THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE HARMONIZATION OF THE LEGISLATION AND REFORM OF ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES OF THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

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Background. The article examines the role played by the European Union in ensuring the compliance of the legislation of candidate countries with EU law and the adaptation of administrative structures in candidate countries seeking to join the EU. Strict Copenhagen criteria characterize EU enlargement policy and require legislative and administrative reforms from candidate countries to bring legislation and management structures into compliance with EU standards. These reforms are critical to ensuring stable institutions, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. Examining the transformative impact of these requirements, the presented research highlights how compliance with EU norms contributes to good governance, improved public service delivery, economic development, and strengthens institutional capacity in candidate countries. Methods. Research methods are modern general and special methods of scientific knowledge, among which in particular: analysis was used to process scientific, analytical, and legislative sources; inductive and deductive – for analysis and generalization of information on the subject of research; forecasting and synthesis was used during the formulation of conclusions and recommendations based on the results of the study. Results. The study of the role of the European Union in the harmonization of legislation and the reform of the administrative structures of the candidate countries showed that the influence of the EU is a decisive factor in the successful introduction of changes to the legal framework and the reform of the institutional system of these countries. It has been established that harmonizing national legislation with the acquis communautaire contributes to increasing the level of independence of justice, ensuring economic stability and social welfare in candidate countries. At the same time, financial and technical assistance from the EU contributes to accelerating the reform process. Conclusions. The study confirms that assistance from the side of the European Union plays a decisive role in harmonizing legislation and reforming administrative structures in candidate countries. At the same time, effective implementation of EU governance standards ensures transparency, efficiency and accountability of public administration, which is important for EU integration. In future studies, it is planned to compare the success of reforms in different candidate countries to identify the best experience for its implementation in domestic practice