Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 01/2012

Politics Prevail in EU Enlargement

Julie Herschend Christoffersen

December 2011

Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract

On 9 December 2011, the European Council will discuss Serbia as a future member of the EU. Serbia has come a long way in the past ten years, and the captures of alleged war criminals in recent years have underlined the commitment to a European future on the part of the Serbian government. However, Kosovo remains a serious obstacle for Serbia’s EU dreams, as the latest developments in the region have demonstrated. The internal division of the EU on the issue complicates the matter further. Once again, politics prevails in EU enlargement. This DIIS Policy Brief focuses on some of the underlying dynamics of the EU enlargement policy.