European Union Enlargement Policy with Special Reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina – Preferences and Downsides

Abstract

By virtue of several European visionaries, led by Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, whose noble goal was to end centuries of wars and bloodshed on the European continent, today we have the European Union, the most successful integration project of the 20th century. The European Union has come a long way to achieve the ultimate goal of political stability, based on equality in diversity, rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights, as well as the economic growth and development of all its members. From the original six countries that founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, the European Union, through seven rounds of enlargement, has grown into a community of 27 prosperous countries, which both individually and together within the Union, have become a significant player on the global political and economic scene. The aim of this paper is to research and analyze the complexity of the European Union enlargement policy, its preferences and downsides, with special emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina and its integration processes, following its recent candidate status. The main research objective is to identify the factors that may enable or constrain effective EU enlargement policy and its implementation in BiH. The paper argues that the final goal - the EU acquis transposition and enforcement by enlargement countries - may present the biggest hurdle on the EU trajectory. The research methods include qualitative methods - analysis of the relevant literature, publications, official EU data, as well as the EU and BiH policy documents and strategies.