Abstract

The EU integrates new members through the enlargement process once they meet a number of political and economic conditions. The process encourages democratic and economic reforms in countries that want to become EU members and promotes greater stability and prosperity in Europe.
Enlargement is the process whereby states join the European Union, after they have fulfilled a set of political and economic conditions. Any European state which respects EU democratic values and is committed to promoting them may apply for EU membership. The accession criteria, or Copenhagen criteria (named after the 1993 Copenhagen European Council meeting which defined them), are the essential conditions all candidate countries must satisfy to become an EU member state. These are: political criteria: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; economic criteria: a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces; administrative and institutional capacity to effectively implement the EU acquis (body of common rights) and ability to take on the obligations of EU membership. The EU’s capacity to take in new members, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, is also an important consideration.