EU enlargement has been, since its origins, a central component of the European integration process. The prospect of the Union’s expansion was already embedded in the Treaty of Rome and is now formally enshrined in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which allows any European state respecting EU values to apply for membership (Emmert & Petrović, 2014). In many respects, enlargement policy constitutes one of the European Union’s most significant policy successes. The progressive integration of new member states has not only expanded the Single Market but has also contributed to a broader political objective: the stabilization and pacification of the European continent, from Franco-German post-war reconciliation to the democratisation of Central and Eastern Europe after 1989.
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