Czechia Forces A Political Collision Into Overtime
14 October 2021
The EU has a significant measure of influence on the accession countries only as long as they remain candidates. The case of the Balkan states is more problematic than the one for Central Europe before 2004.
Since 2004, the EU has grown from 15 to 27 member states. Whilst the EU boundaries, geopolitics and internal cohesion have all changed dramatically, the internal organisation of the EU has barely reformed failing to adapt to the challenge of an increased and diverse membership.
In the meantime, the EU has been plagued by major crises: including the global economic slump in 2008, the eurozone sovereign debt crises in 2010-2012, the refugee crisis in 2015 and most recently the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which will inevitably produce a major economic recession in the entire EU.
The challenge of enlargement coupled with economic woes and the challenge of migration and asylum have contributed to the rise of Eurosceptic parties, which have grown in popularity in most if not all of EU member states and which are threatening to derail the entire project of European integration.