ABSTRACT

The European Union continued the enlargement process and reached its current size of 28 members with the participation of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and then Croatia in 2013 despite the constitutional and economic crises it experienced. The fact that four of the current candidate countries are from the Western Balkans reveals that the enlargement process is focused on the Balkans. Additionally, the enlargement process toward the Balkans moved higher on the agenda of the EU due to the fact that the conditions for membership were worsened following the waves of enlargement in 2004 and 2007. This study, based on the claims that Bulgaria and Romania became EU members without meeting all requirements for accession, points out the conditions under which these two countries and Croatia got EU membership and their current economic situation. Thus, it will be possible to present clues to the Western Balkan countries for the way they will go through for EU membership.