Extinderea Uniunii Europene. Statele din Balcani
The Enlargement of the European Union. The Balkan States

Summary/Abstract: The events triggered by the typically Nazi invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, under the pretext of removing the fascists from Kyiv and freeing the Ukrainian brothers from the yoke of colonialism led to a solidarity reaction of Western countries, unexpected after the pandemic crisis of the last two years. Thus, the enlargement of the European Union to the East has firmly returned to the agenda of European leaders, especially after the official request of President Zelenski. This request was immediately accompanied by similar actions by the governments of the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, which are also under direct threat from Moscow. The issue of older, still unfinished accession processes of some Balkan states (Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo) has also returned, with integration files in different stages of the process. Obviously, the emotion released from the tragedy of the Ukrainian people is expected to smooth the country’s path to the EU, but it is equally clear that all other contenders will be able to benefit from the situation created, given that the last state to join the Union was Croatia, in 2013. The probable thawing of the enlargement process is analyzed in this study, trying to answer two key questions: will those states be able to meet the multiple criteria imposed by the Union? and will the European Union be able to engage effectively and firmly in order to accelerate the necessary reforms in the accession countries?

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