Evaluation of the EU enlargement process: the case of North Macedonia (1993-2020)

Abstract

The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the enlargement process of the European Union. First of all, it will present and analyze the first form of the enlargement process and its evolution throughout the previous years. Then it will focus on the current form of the process by evaluating it and finding the points that need to be changed and further evolved. In order to do that, there will be a case study, the case of North Macedonia , which has recently opened talks for its complete EU membership, but has been facing the disagreement of some members, and also, the French President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron stated that there must first be changes in the EU enlargement process before the Union is ready to accept new members efficiently. The methodology that is going to be used in the thesis is the following: First of all, all the official documents that are related to the topic are going to be studied from EU sources, notably from the European Commission, as well as the Greek and North Macedonia parliaments. Then, specific interviews and statements from European ministers that are in favor and others that are not favorable to the idea of a reform of the EU enlargement process will be analyzed. It should also be noted that, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, many websites and online sources have been used. Finally, with all the materials that have been gathered, I will attempt to give answers to the following questions: Does the EU enlargement process need changes? Why? And if yes, at which points? The first part of the thesis will include the theoretical framework of the subject. The European Union’s enlargement process since 2004 will be presented, together with the relevant legislative framework and the changes that have taken place in the process. This part will also contain the philosophy, values, aims, and detailed processes of EU enlargement. The second part will include the proposals and attempts that have been made to change the EU enlargement process, also including reviews and evaluations of these proposals and attempts. The third part will consist of the key study. It will start with the historical review of the history of the Balkans regarding their relations vis-à-vis the EU. After that, I will present the complete process that has been followed for North Macedonia in order for this country to become a full member state of the EU since 2000, when North Macedonia initiated negotiations via the EU’s Stabilization and Association Process, and since then, by evaluating and criticizing the process in total. Finally, the last part of the thesis will present the conclusions of the research, as well as some suggestions and proposals for changes of the EU enlargement process.