THE END OF A LONG TRANSITION? Macedonia’s readiness for EU candidacy
Publisher: Analytica, Macedonia
Date: October 2005
Volume: 16 pages, pdf
Description
Macedonia as a whole, for EU is not an easy question. It does not have the appeal of the states that joined in 2004 or that are to join in near future. It is either less ready for membership and/or brings fewer advantages to EU than any of the previous round of candidates. Moreover, the decision for the candidacy of Macedonia will have to be made in the context of a rapidly and unexpectedly changed EU political environment. Nevertheless, EU the option of not enlarging to Macedonia and to other countries of the western Balkans has taken off the table. Consensus on the EU enlargement to the western Balkans is growing day by day within both EU and the EU member states elite. Thus, as Macedonia is getting embedded smoothly into the European integration processes, there is an important reason for EU to set a stage for shift in the countries’ transition processes that will mark an irreversible process of institution and state building: to have Macedonia as a candidate country starting from December 2005 and to receive a favourable opinion by the EU to launch negotiations for full membership by 2006.