What can the EU do to promote rule of law in members and neighbours? Lessons from Bulgaria and Romania

Dimitrova, Antoaneta (2015) What can the EU do to promote rule of law in members and neighbours? Lessons from Bulgaria and Romania. [Conference Proceedings] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: The European Union’s focus on political integration2, in the sense of evaluating and supporting democratic regime consolidation and democratic institutions, rule of law, human and minorities’ rights dates back to the early years of the 2004-2007 enlargement. While the EU was considered an important factor in the consolidation of democratic regimes in Spain and Portugal (Preston 1997), the Spanish and Portuguese transitions were viewed as nearly completed when these countries joined the European Community. While the EU’s contribution to the overall strengthening of democratic institutions is considered by many (Vachudova 2005; Dimitrova/ Pridham 2005; Schimmelfennig/Sedelmeier 2005; Levitz/ Pop-Eleches 2010 a,b, but see Mungiu-Pippidi 2008; 2014 for a different view) to have been essential for the consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe in general, the evaluation of the Union’s efforts to promote rule of law and support the struggle against corruption shows mixed results. The question arises why has the Union as a whole and its various institutional actors and networks managed to support democratic consolidation and a host of other regulatory reforms needed to apply the policies of the Union, but not influence the struggle against corruption to the same extent?

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