EU:S VILLKORADE UTVIDGNING

Abstract

The Western Balkans is an area where the European Union is aiming to secure well-functioning democratic societies on a steady path towards the EU. The EU accession is the centre of the relations between the EU and the Western Balkans. This study examines how the EU, more specifically the European Commission, has used its conditionality in the process of integrating the countries of the Western Balkans. The study compares two neighboring countries, Croatia and Serbia, and analyzes how the conditions set for each state have developed during the period between the negotiation stages. The comparison is done in order to examine how the EU conditionality has developed over time. By analyzing the material used in the study, the thesis has shown that EU conditionality has developed into stricter conditions for today’s candidate states. The thesis also examines the factors that have contributed to the development of EU conditionality. The conclusion is thus that due to the instability in the Western Balkans, the EU has needed to strengthen its conditionality in order to be able to protect its own stability. The study highlights some differences between the conditions set for the neighboring countries, which indicates that the strengthening of EU conditionality is a result of specific experiences and events.