The Fifth and Sixth enlargement of the EU: lessons for the Associated Trio countries

Abstract

Throughout the entire period of relations between the countries of the Associated Trio and the European Union, there were quite a few problematic issues, both in the political and economic spheres. The presence of these obstacles did not allow Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to move as confidently towards EU accession as the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe did in the 1990s and 2000s. These states were the main ones within the framework of the fifth and sixth enlargements of the EU, which took place in 2004 and 2007, respectively. However, their history of European integration progress cannot be called painless either, since there were quite a lot of obstacles on their way to the EU that were quite difficult to resolve. It was the presence of a large number of problematic issues that these states needed to resolve before joining the European Union that was one of the main reasons for the long-term progress of the European integration progress of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. These problematic aspects were largely identical to those that, both in the past and now, arise on the European integration path of the Associated Trio states. The article analyzes the similarities of the challenges that were on the agenda of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s and 2000s during their movement towards EU membership, and the problems that Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia face when implementing the reforms and recommendations from the European Commission necessary for EU accession. The results of the study identified positive and negative experiences in the history of European integration of post-socialist states from the bloc of the fifth and sixth EU enlargements in order to develop recommendations to accelerate the European integration progress of the Associated Trio states and minimize problematic issues along the way.