EU Enlargement and Successful Integration

The countries involved in the accession negotiation process can be divided into two groups: the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. The situations of these countries are very different, but the accession process is expected to be very lengthy for all of them, which has opened up new avenues for their involvement. The enlargement process will consume a large part of the EU's energy in the coming years, and the future of the EU depends largely 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 a study will allow us to examine the effectiveness of "gradual integration" and to outline the principles of a future enlargement strategy. To this end, the research team evaluated and compared several critical aspects of past enlargements and examined their effectiveness. Furthermore, it discussed the previous strategy for the Western Balkans, its new aspects and their impact so far. Finally, it delved on the idea of "gradual integration" and its prospects. To sum up, the research focused in particular on the following questions: (i) What can successful integration be considered? (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 Member States be implemented to be successful?