DEFINING THE LIMITS OF EU EASTERN ENLARGEMENT: FATIGUE, VALUES OR 'ABSORPTION CAPACITY'?

Abstract

After the successful completion of the 2004/07 'mega enlargement', the spread of peace, democracy and prosperity on the European continent via EU enlargement seems to be speedily approaching its limits. Despite more interested candidates and initially promising socio-economic development trends among both the new and old EU members, only a few small countries from the Western Balkans have any real chance of joining the EU in the near future. Looking at the main causes of the emergence of enlargement fatigue in the 'old' EU member states and its negative impacts on the continuation of EU eastern enlargement after 2004/07, this paper argues that the limits of EU eastern enlargement are set by both prevailing political attitudes founded on various grounds in the leading EU member states and by the rationally defined objective capacity of the EU's institutions to absorb the new member states.