EU Policy on Rule of Law in the Enlargement Context

The EU set out its “fundamentals first” policy in 2012 based upon the experience with the accession of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. Strengthening the rule of law was identified as a major challenge and progress in this area was made a firm condition for countries moving towards EU membership. The negotiation process was redesigned to this end, and significant IPA funds were targeted to support rule of law reforms. Ten years later, a report from the European Court of Auditors concluded that, despite the political attention and the considerable funding devoted to rule of law reforms, the actual progress made by candidate countries had been small (if at all). What progress had been made was often in terms or process rather than tangible improvements in the quality of judicial systems. This lack of progress has been confirmed by third-party assessments. This chapter will look at why progress has been disappointing and will argue that the main reason has been a lack of political will to make structural reforms. In the absence of political will, financial support can only have a marginal impact on questions such as judicial independence. If the current approach is continued, then substantial progress in this area is unlikely. As a result, EU support – both political and financial – will need to be reassessed, redesigned and improved. The alternative would be an acceptance that progress on the “fundamentals” is no longer a prerequisite for EU accession. The chapter will conclude by identifying some of the elements that a new approach could include.