THE RULE OF LAW IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION’S WESTERN BALKANS ENLARGEMENT POLICY
Journal
Political Thought
Date Issued
2020-05
Author(s)
Vasko Naumovski, Milena Apostolovska Stepanoska, Leposava Ogjnanovska
Abstract
The key conditions for EU membership and the principle of rule of law are enshrined
in the Copenhagen criteria. Amplifying the conditionality policy meant that political
criteria were introduced into the EU membership negotiation process by means of
diff erentiating two chapters within Union law: Chapter 23, Judiciary and fundamental
rights, and Chapter 24, Justice, freedom and security, thus creating the basis for the new
approach at the enlargement process according to the motto “fundamentals fi rst”. The
reason for introducing this approach was the requirement to achieve results in the areas
that represent the pillars of a democratic society and are an indispensable precondition
for conducting the remaining reforms. This requirement is particularly refl ected in the
22
POLITICAL
THOUGHT 59
VASKO NAUMOVSKI
MILENA APOSTOLOVSKA-STEPANOSKA
LEPOSAVA OGNJANOSKA
latest proposal on a new enlargement methodology that followed the summit in October
2019, when appointing a date for the start of negotiations with Albania and our state
was postponed and the accession process, again, reached a dead end. The proposed
methodology focuses even more on the “fundamentals”, taking into account that
democratic institutions and economic criteria are also affected by the rule of law. Thus,
political criteria are linked to economic criteria in one logical entity, as foreseen according
to the Copenhagen criteria.
in the Copenhagen criteria. Amplifying the conditionality policy meant that political
criteria were introduced into the EU membership negotiation process by means of
diff erentiating two chapters within Union law: Chapter 23, Judiciary and fundamental
rights, and Chapter 24, Justice, freedom and security, thus creating the basis for the new
approach at the enlargement process according to the motto “fundamentals fi rst”. The
reason for introducing this approach was the requirement to achieve results in the areas
that represent the pillars of a democratic society and are an indispensable precondition
for conducting the remaining reforms. This requirement is particularly refl ected in the
22
POLITICAL
THOUGHT 59
VASKO NAUMOVSKI
MILENA APOSTOLOVSKA-STEPANOSKA
LEPOSAVA OGNJANOSKA
latest proposal on a new enlargement methodology that followed the summit in October
2019, when appointing a date for the start of negotiations with Albania and our state
was postponed and the accession process, again, reached a dead end. The proposed
methodology focuses even more on the “fundamentals”, taking into account that
democratic institutions and economic criteria are also affected by the rule of law. Thus,
political criteria are linked to economic criteria in one logical entity, as foreseen according
to the Copenhagen criteria.
Subjects
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