The transformative power of EU: an assessment of EU impact in the judicial system of Kosovo

Msc Bahrie Besimi

doi:10.21113/iir.v6i1.227

Abstract

In the process of EU integration, the aspiring candidate and potential candidate countries have undergone a major process of reforms. The Central European Countries accession process has been analyzed in details, using both rationalist and constructivist models. However, the South European Countries, in general, and Western Balkan countries, in particular, have a lot to be critically analyzed, studied and understood. Nevertheless, the purpose of this paper is not to analyze all Western Balkan countries, but to focus only on Kosovo, namely to study its judicial system. In this regard, to what extent the EU has had transformative power and impacted the internal judicial structures of Kosovo and under which conditions the EU is more effective? This article analyzes the findings of the Progress reports for a ten-year period (2005 – 2015) and the extent of the EU impact. It makes use of the conceptual and rational framework of external incentives model and argues that the EU impact in the judiciary system of Kosovo was crucial and transformative considering the starting low phase of reforms in Kosovo.

Highlights

The transformative power of EU integration processes and its impact in the candidate countries and potential candidate countries has been deeply analyzed by the Europeanization literature.1The EU incentives formed the basis of a strong conditionality policy which the EU used to press for democratic reforms and to monitor compliance with its core political values.2 The literature has attempted to move beyond the rationalist bargaining model, which is referred as the external incentive model, by introducing new variables both at the EU and at the domestic level
With the aim of addressing the impact and the ‘transformative power’ of the EU integration processes, on the judiciary system in particular, this paper argues that despite the slow reforms that gradually took place and the weak state capacities to absorb the required reforms, the EU as an actor and the EU integration/accession processes, as diffusion of idea4, was the most crucial actor/mechanism, respectively, that had a crucial impact on gradual changes in Kosovo in
In conceptualizing the EU impact, this paper will make use of the work of Shcimmelfenning and Sedelmeier which provided the theoretical framework of the rational ‘external incentives model’ which follows the logic of consequences and is driven by the external rewards and sanctions that the EU adds to the cost-benefit calculations of the rule-adopting state’

Summary

Introduction

The transformative power of EU integration processes and its impact in the candidate countries and potential candidate countries has been deeply analyzed by the Europeanization literature.1The EU incentives formed the basis of a strong conditionality policy which the EU used to press for democratic reforms and to monitor compliance with its core political values. The literature has attempted to move beyond the rationalist bargaining model, which is referred as the external incentive model, by introducing new variables both at the EU and at the domestic level. Considering the fact that majority of the Western Balkan countries have been empirically analyzed on the impact of the EU integration/accession processes, the case of Kosovo has been barely addressed. In this regard, with the aim of addressing the impact and the ‘transformative power’ of the EU integration processes, on the judiciary system in particular, this paper argues that despite the slow reforms that gradually took place and the weak state capacities to absorb the required reforms, the EU as an actor and the EU integration/accession processes, as diffusion of idea, was the most crucial actor/mechanism, respectively, that had a crucial impact on gradual changes in Kosovo in. The effectiveness and transformative impact of EU integration will be proven by studying and analyzing the EU progress reports, its findings, gaps and progresses that cover a period of 10 years (2005 – 2015)

Literature Review and Theoretical background

Historical Background of the case of Kosovo

Conclusions