Südosteuropa im Schatten der EU-Krisen
Southeast Europe in the Shade of EU Crises

Why the Enlargement Process Does Not Progress

Summary/Abstract: Europe is in trouble. The British people want to leave the European Union and the project of enlargement is in a stalemate. These developments have considerable consequences for the candidate countries in Southeast Europe. The challenging question is: Why doesn’t the assurance of the European Council in Thessaloniki 2003 to open the EU door for candidate countries in Southeast Europe materialise? The countries of Eastern Europe joined the EU in 2004; the positive effects of membership for political and economic progress can be identified. In contrast, economic as well as political transformation in Southeast Europe proceeds slowly. High-level corruption, deficits in the rule of law, organised crime, clientelism, patronage networks and political pressure on the media are characteristics of the deadlock in the Western Balkans. The multiple crises of the EU illustrate how the EU became more introverted and eager to preserve the status quo. Increasingly, the argument gained currency to introduce a twofold moratorium: First, to re-establish the EU and secondly, to enforce an enlargement time out. Beyond the current crises in the EU the reasons for the deadlock in the Western Balkans must be traced back to the continuity of old elites and the emergence of weak counter-elites. That delayed the process of transformation and undermined reform-oriented forces. A culture of conspiracy supported organised crime, making state-capture easier.

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