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EU member states and enlargement towards the Balkans. EPC ISSUE PAPER No. 79, July 2015
From the Executive Summary. The European Unionās enlargement to the Balkans seems to be running on autopilot since Croatiaās
accession in 2013 and amidst the on-going crisis. While the region still has a clear European
perspective, progress on the dossier has been marred not just by outstanding challenges in
individual Balkan countries but often also by hurdles which develop within the Union ā more
specifically in the member states. While the EUās internal procedures for handling enlargement have
always been intergovernmental in nature, the frequency of incursions and opportunities for the
member states to interfere and derail the process has increased over the past years, suggesting a
so-called ānationalisationā of enlargement.
In 17 case studies and two theoretical chapters, this Issue Paper investigates whether the dossier
has shifted more under the control of the member states, and looks at the kind of considerations
and potential āroadblocksā that influence the positions of key national actors on enlargement