Thirty Years Since Copenhagen – EU Enlargement Policy 3.0

Abstract

Politika proširenja Evropske unije nastala je početkom devedesetih godina XX veka kao odgovor na zahteve država Centralne i Istočne Evrope za pristupanje Uniji. Imajući u vidu nekoliko prethodnih talasa proširenja, cilj Unije bio je prvenstveno da institucionalizuje prethodna iskustva i na taj način stvori set standardizovanih pravila za proces pristupanja. Tokom godina Politika proširenja doživela je nekoliko promena i reformi koje su determinisane prethodnim iskustvima proširenja, institucionalnim i političkim izazovima u funkcionisanju same Unije, ali i političkim dešavanjima u regionima u kojima politika proširenja deluje. Posledično, ona se našla u stanju hiperinstitucionalizacije i kao takva predstavlja „pokretnu metu“ za države u procesu pristupanja. Praksa je pokazala da navedena dinamika institucionalizacije nije poboljšala performanse Politike proširenja. Naprotiv, novih proširenja nije bilo, a Unija je, determinisana rusko-ukrajinskim sukobom promenila ciljeve proširenja. Ona je sada usmerena na nove države koje do tog trenutka nisu gradile institucionalne veze sa perspektivom članstva, a u regionu Zapadnog Balkana postavljeni su novi prioriteti u pregovorima. Ove promene možemo okarakterisati kao esencijalne, te u skladu sa tim naglasiti da su trideset godina od promovisanja Kriterijuma iz Kopenhagena Unija i države članice prioritizovale političku dimenziju proširenja. Rad analizira glavne pravce razvoja politike proširenja sa posebnim osvrtom na pomeranje fokusa sa vladavine prava na usklađivanje sa Zajedničkom spoljnom i bezbednosnom politikom Unije kao i promenu institucionalnih veza sa državama Istočnog Partnerstva, uz osnovnu tezu da je nakon prioritizacije vladavine prava ovo druga esencijalna promena Politike proširenja.The Enlargement Policy of the European Union was created at the beginning of the 90s of the 20th Century as a response to the demands of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe for accession to the Union. Given the several previous waves of Enlargement, the Union’s aim was primarily to institutionalize previous experiences and thus create a set of standardized rules for the accession process. Over the years, the Enlargement Policy has undergone several changes and reforms determined by previous enlargement experiences, institutional and political challenges in the functioning of the Union itself, but also political developments in the regions where the Enlargement Policy operates. Consequently, it found itself in a state of hyper-institutionalization and as such represents a “moving target” for countries in the process of accession. Practice has shown that the stated dynamics of institutionalization did not improve the performance of the Enlargement Policy. On the contrary, there were no new enlargements, and the Union, affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, changed the objectives of the Enlargement. It is now aimed at new states that until that moment had not built institutional ties with the prospect of membership, and in the Western Balkans region, new priorities were set in the negotiations. We can characterize these changes as essential, and accordingly emphasize that thirty years after the Copenhagen Criteria were promoted, the Union and the member states prioritized the political dimension of Enlargement. The paper analyzes the main directions of development of the Enlargement Policy with special reference to the shift of focus from the Rule of Law to alignment with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union, as well as the change in institutional ties with the countries of the Eastern Partnership with the basic thesis that after the prioritization of the rule of law, this is the second essential change in the Enlargement Policy