Western Balkan countries have participated in several EU policies despite failing to gain full membership of the EU. Doge Maria Julia Amadio and Matteo Bonomi This form of cooperation has enabled the European Union to maintain a system of regional integration when faced with the shocks of a series of crises.
The EU enlargement process has stalled since Croatia’s accession in 2013. However, despite the lack of progress in securing membership, many enlarged countries have participated in several EU policies.
A recent study examined the case of the Western Balkan countries to shed light on this phenomenon. Our findings suggest that the EU has repeatedly relied on what we call “external differentiation cooperation” as a strategy in its relations with the Western Balkan countries. By shifting the scope of enlarged state participation in policy, the European Union ensured the functioning of regional integration systems in the face of shocks from a series of crises.
Boundaries change due to lack of membership
The Western Balkan countries are all enlargement countries subject to the EU stabilization and association process and are therefore part of the EU regional integration system. The reluctance of some member states to expand their EU membership has stalled the enlargement process in these countries.
However, these countries have not only repeatedly engaged in EU policy, but also participated in the EU’s response to several crises. They cooperated with the EU to strengthen competitiveness and achieve long-term growth following the EU’s financial and economic crisis. We are also working with the EU to manage migration flows and address the health and socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, EU actors have repeatedly supported and encouraged the participation of non-member states in EU policies.
Our findings suggest that when the crisis put the operation of the EU regional integration system at risk, EU actors used Western Balkan countries’ EU policy integration as a system maintenance strategy within broad policy areas. . This process, which we conceptualized as “external differentiation cooperation,” allowed the EU and the Western Balkan countries to resolve the interdependence created by the crisis, despite member states’ reluctance to pursue enlargement.
The participation of Western Balkan countries in EU-related policies has increased during the migration crisis. EU actors have also raised the possibility of Western Balkan countries engaging in freedom, security and justice policies and economic issues at a time when shocks have increased interdependence in these policy areas.
However, at times, EU actors have made new commitments to full EU membership to ensure the cooperation of these countries. This occurred at a time when the impact of the crisis had increased the EU’s dependence on the enlarged countries, placing the latter in a position of relative power. The outbreak of the Russian war in Ukraine and the bilateral conflict in the Western Balkans are important examples.
What’s next?
The integration of enlargement countries into EU policy despite delays in the accession process is an apparent paradox worth investigating. This is especially true at a time when the European Commission is considering a “pre-enlargement policy review” to “progressively integrate” enlarged countries into EU policies before accession. However, our knowledge of this phenomenon is still very limited.
Progressive integration of enlargement countries into EU policy would enable the EU to balance the geopolitical need to act quickly against the need to pursue a merit-based enlargement process based on the Copenhagen accession criteria. This could appear to be a useful strategy, given that the war in Ukraine, the difficulties enlarged countries have experienced in implementing reforms, competition from third countries such as Russia, and the EU’s reluctance to expand its membership are all likely to continue to delay the enlargement process.
For more details, please refer to the author’s attached paper. western european politics.
Note: This article gives the views of the author and not the position of EUROPP (European Politics and Policy) or the London School of Economics. Featured image credit: European Union
