EU Enlargement and Successful Integration

Countries in the process of accession negotiations can be divided into two groups: the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. Although the situation of the countries is very different, the accession process is expected to be very lengthy. Therefore, in the past, new ways of involving these countries have been sought. The enlargement process will consume a large part of the EU's energy in the coming years and the future of the EU will largely depend on its success. So before setting the agenda for the coming years, it is useful to analyse past enlargements and assess what worked well and what could have been done better. Such an exercise will allow us to examine the effectiveness of "gradual integration" and to outline the principles for a future enlargement strategy. To this end, the research team will assess and compare several critical aspects of past enlargements and examine their effectiveness. It also discusses the past strategy for the Western Balkans, its new aspects and their impact so far. Finally, it will focus on the idea of 'gradual integration' and its prospects. To this end, the research will focus in particular on the following issues: (i) What can be considered as successful integration? (ii) What techniques have been used in the past to achieve successful integration? (iii) Does the concept of gradual integration meet the criteria for successful integration? (iv) How should the integration of future new Member States be implemented in order to be successful?