Full Description
This book offers a critical examination of how the EU's Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) has influenced governance and legal reform across the Western Balkans and beyond. Focusing on six countries at different stages of the accession process, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia, and North Macedonia, this book assesses the IPA's evolving role as a mechanism for strengthening the rule of law. Through country-specific analyses, the book explores how IPA funding has supported judicial reform, anti-corruption measures, and legal harmonisation, while also considering the long-term effects in Croatia, the region's only EU member state. Additional contributions provide a broader assessment of the IPA's strategic development, successes, and limitations as an instrument of EU conditionality. Bridging theoretical perspectives with empirical insights, this book offers a comprehensive yet accessible exploration of EU financial aid as a driver of governance reform. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of EU expansion and regional development, providing valuable lessons from the diverse trajectories of the Western Balkans.
Contents
Foreword 1. The Evolution of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance: From Conception to Modern Implementation 2. Western Balkans on the Path to the EU: Progress and Challenges in Rule of Law Reforms 3. EU policy on rule of law in the enlargement context 4. Impacts of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance on the Rule of Law in Albania 5. Fighting Corruption with EU Funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Evaluating Institutional Capacity, Political Ownership and Outcomes 6. From Assistance to Action? IPA's Role in Strengthening the Rule of Law in North Macedonia 7. Impacts of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance on Rule of Law in Montenegro State of play and perspectives 8. EU's Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and 'limited progress' in advancing the rule of law in Serbiam 9. Shaping Croatia's EU Path: The Impact Of IPA Funds and the Ongoing Role of the RFT 10. The rule of law as the cornerstone of the EU project and its role in the Instruments for Pre-accession Assistance for Western Balkans
