EU IDENTITY IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

Abstract

Western Balkan countries are still facing systemic structural difficulties while complying with the European
standards on the rule of law. The article argues that similar to other new EU member states such as Poland and
Hungary, they might face similar rule of law issues once they become part of the EU if significant rule of law
reforms does not take place in the region. Therefore, considering the importance of the rule of law as a core
value of the European Union (EU) identity according to the EU Court of Justice, the study assesses to what
extent this part of EU identity is present in the Western Balkan countries. On the one hand, the article evaluates
the potential risks that the Western Balkans countries might face in light of the binding and not-binding
instruments adopted by the European Union for protecting the rule of law. On the other hand, it sheds some
light on the state of play of the implementation of the rule of law in the region according to its new definition
provided by the EU Court