Nova metodologija proširenja Evropske unije – pravni aspekti i izazovi

Abstract

The paper analyses a new EU enlargement methodology issued by the European Commission in February 2020 named “Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans”. The crises that EU have been facing for a decade and the half have led to the stalemate in the EU enlargement process. The main objective of a new enlargement methodology is to reinvigorate the enlargement policy. The changed geopolitical circumstances on the European continent have also an impact on the enlargement policy. The paper presents an attempt to answer the question whether a new enlargement methodology is an adequate response to the structural deficiencies that burden the enlargement process and whether new mechanisms could provide this process with new momentum? The paper first analyses the criteria on which a new methodology is based, as well as the mechanisms for their implementation. Then, the challenges of a new enlargement methodology are discussed. Special attention is paid to the closer integration of the candidate country with the European Union and “phasing-in” to individual EU policies, the EU market and EU programs, as a positive incentive mechanism. Finally, the paper examines the application of a new enlargement methodology in Serbia.