| Author (Corporate) | European Parliament: European Parliamentary Research Service |
|---|---|
| Series Title | What Think Tanks Are Thinking |
| Series Details | 04.05.18 |
| Publication Date | 04/05/2018 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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In his State of the Union speech in September 2017, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called for keeping a credible European Union membership perspective for Western Balkan countries, while ruling out the possibility of Turkey joining the EU in 'the foreseeable future' due to violations to the rule of law and fundamental rights. According to the European Commission's assessment, the forecasts for economic growth in the Western Balkans were good, although progress on reform had been slow, the rule of law had been weak, and corruption was persistent. From the Western Balkans, only Croatia had joined the EU, in 2013. Accession talks continued with Montenegro and Serbia. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania were official candidates. Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for EU membership in 2016, and remained a potential candidate country, along with Kosovo. The European Union’s planned enlargement into the Western Balkans had recently drawn increased attention. In February 2018, the European Commission released its new enlargement strategy, giving a credible accession perspective to the region. Subsequently, a further impetus came in April 2018, when the European Commission proposed opening entry talks with Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Presenting the 2018 Communication on the EU enlargement policy to the European Parliament, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the EU needed to eventually accept new members from the Western Balkans to avoid the risk of a new war in the region. Many EU member states insisted that before enlarging, the EU must implement internal reforms. Future members must meet many tough entry criteria. This note offered hyperlinks to reports and commentaries from some major international think-tanks and research institutes on EU enlargement and Western Balkans. More reports on the topic can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’, published in October 2017. More reports on the Western Balkans can be found in a previous edition of 'What Think Tanks are thinking' published in March 2017. A previous collection of think tank features on enlargement from 2016 can be found here. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/621865/EPRS_BRI(2018)621865_EN.pdf |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Southeastern Europe |
