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Understanding Enlargement

Enlargement is one of the EU's most powerful policy tools. The pull of the EU helped to transform countries of Central and Eastern Europe into modern, well-functioning democracies. More recently, it has inspired far-reaching reforms in candidate and potential candidate countries. All European citizens benefit from having neighbours that are stable democracies and prosperous market economies. Enlargement is a carefully managed process which helps the transformation of the countries involved, extending peace, stability, prosperity, democracy, human rights and the rule of law across Europe.
Accession Process and Criteria

According to the Treaty on European Union, any European country may apply for membership if it respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. Accession, however, can only follow if the given European country fulfils all criteria of accession, also known as the Copenhagen Criteria, which were fixed by the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993:

  • political: stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for /protection of minorities;
  • economic: a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU;
  • the capacity to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the objectives of political, economic and monetary union.

    The Copenhagen criteria were reinforced by the European Council in Madrid in 1995, with a further one added:

    • adoption of the Acquis Communautaire (the entire European legislation) and its effective implementation through appropriate administrative and judicial structures.

      In addition, the EU must be able to absorb new members, so it reserves the right to decide when it will be ready to accept them.

      How does a country join the EU?
      A country that wishes to join the EU submits an application for membership to the Council, which asks the Commission to assess the applicant's ability to meet the conditions of membership. If the Commission delivers a positive opinion and the Council unanimously agrees, negotiations are formally opened between the candidate and all the Member States.
      Pre-accession Strategy

      The pre-accession strategy is designed to prepare the candidate countries for future membership. It encompasses the following frameworks and mechanisms:

      • Europe Agreements / Stabilisation and Association Agreements
      • Accession Partnerships / European Partnerships
      • Pre-accession assistance
      • Co-financing from International Financing Institutions
      • Participation in EU Programmes, Agencies and Committees
      • National Programme for the adoption of the Acquis
      • Regular/Progress Reports
      • Political and Economic Dialogue

        Negotiations
        The first step in negotiations is the so-called “screening”. It is an analytical examination of the Acquis to explain it to the candidate countries and, with them, to identify areas where there may be problems to be addressed.
        Monitoring

        The Commission keeps the Council and the Parliament duly informed about the candidates' preparations for membership with the help of “Monitoring Reports”. They also serve to guide the candidate countries in their preparations. A “Comprehensive Monitoring Report” serves as a basis to decide on any possible remedial measure to be taken by the Commission.

        The Ratification Process and Accession
        Once negotiations are concluded, the results are incorporated into a draft Accession Treaty, which is agreed on between the Council and the acceding country. It is subsequently submitted to the Commission and to the European Parliament. Each Member State and the acceding country must also ratify it, in accordance with their constitutional procedures. When the ratification process has been concluded and the Treaty takes effect, the candidate becomes a Member State.