Upholding the Rule of Law in the EU – Enlargement Policy as a Credible Guardian?

Abstract

Since over a decade the EU is holding accession negotiations with the Western Balkan countries and monitoring their compliance with the Union’s core values like democracy, the rule of law and human rights. At the same time, its own member states, namely Hungary and Poland have been seriously undermining these very principles. How does this affect the current enlargement process? This contribution argues that due to systemic differences there are more chances at the moment for the EU to uphold rule of law by its enlargement policy than by the mechanisms it has at hand to deal with violations by its member states. Due to a more flexible approach, the Commission constantly reviews its strategy and adapts it to the specific needs of the countries and outer circumstances. A case study comparing the accession process of Montenegro, a current applicant, and Slovakia, part of the Eastern enlargement in 2004, shows that today’s negotiations and monitoring indeed are stricter, more diversified, and with an higher focus on the respect for the rule of law. However, this change cannot be directly traced back to the rule of law crisis, and thus needs further research to fully understand the Commission’s motivation behind its enlargement strategy.