Fundamental rights and rule of law promotion in EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans

Abstract

This chapter analyses the promotion of the rule of law and fundamental rights by the European Union toward the countries of the Western Balkans and within the EU’s Enlargement policy. The EU’s transformative ‘soft’ power has undeniably had impact on the previous accession rounds in Eastern Europe. However, the conditionality policy that the EU employs vis-à-vis the aspiring countries has not been without criticism. In particular, the most recent reform of the conditionality policy in the area of the rule of law heavily influences the legal systems of and negotiations with the countries in the region. While there is no specific EU acquis against which to measure the ‘rule-of-law readiness’ of the aspiring countries, virtually all Western Balkans countries have begun revising their legal systems so as to align themselves with international standards and EU benchmarks. This is also the case with respect to access to justice, which is a fundamental right in and of itself and also has significant organisational and policy implications for the administration of justice. In order to examine and reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the EU’s conditionality policy, these aspects are illustrated with the example of the interplay between the EU and Serbia in the latter’s accession negotiation process. This is carried out by assessing the EU’s Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) and key legal reforms implemented or planned by Serbia in the sphere of the rule of law and fundamental rights protection.