EU Membership: Adopting the Copenhagen Criteria - Essay Sample

Introduction

The European Union (EU) operates on comprehensive and complex procedures. Currently, the EU has 27 member states, and there are five other countries in the process of transposing the EU legislation into national laws. The conditions followed by all EU member states are known as the 'Copenhagen criteria.' They include acceptance of the EU legislation, a free-market economy, a common rule of law, and usage of euro as a common currency (European Union, 2020a). It means that the member states obtain the opportunity to enjoy some terms such as favorable tariffs and movement of labor. Besides, the EU requires member states to have stable institutions that guarantee democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and protection of minorities. Moreover, their market economy must be functioning, and they should demonstrate the capability to cope with competition and market forces in the European Union (European Union, 2020a). It is also a requirement for member states to implement obligations of membership, such as the ability to adhere to aims of economic, political, and monetary union.

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The EU also has guidelines for member states willing to apply for membership. The general policy, before admission of a new member state, includes the willingness to comply with all the rules and standards set by the EU, consent of the EU member states and the EU institutions, and consent of their citizens (European Union, 2020a). A country aspiring to join the EU is required to submit its application to the Council for evaluation and assessment. It must be ready to adhere to all the guidelines that bring the member state together. The process of admitting a new member state takes time to complete since it involves comprehensive negotiations. Among the conditions negotiated is the adoption of a candidate into the EU and capability such a nation to implement and enforce the EU rules, the 'acquis". Besides, the new member must show a willingness to comply with the 35 different policy fields (chapters) outlined by the EU (European Union, 2020a). Other general conditions outlined by the EU are the financial arrangements of a new member state and the transitional provisions. Generally, the EU's capacity to absorb new members while still upholding the momentum of European integration is a crucial consideration during the admission process.

Prospects of EU Membership of Montenegro

Montenegro is among the countries that have presented their application for the EU membership. The country gained independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and was also reaffirmed as a European nation by the Council. The first dialogue between the EU Ministerial Council and the Government of Montenegro occurred on 22nd January 2007, to ascertain the country's possibility to join the EU. The outcome of the meeting was a decision by the Council to adopt a new European Partnership with Montenegro (European Union, 2017). On 15th October the same year, Montenegro signed an Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related issues and a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU (European Union, 2017). These agreements marked the beginning of cooperation between the EU and Montenegro. Also, Montenegro started to participate in EU Programs.

Montenegro's formal application for EU membership occurred on 15th Dec 2008. On 23rd Apr 2009, the Commission was requested by the Council to the European Union to submit its opinion concerning the application and whether the use was in line with the procedures outlined in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (European Union, 2017). In July 2009, the then European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, presented a Questionnaire to Montenegro's authorities. The EU was to use the questionnaire to assess Montenegro's readiness to fulfill the obligations of EU membership. The country's Prime Minister Djukanovic delivered the answered EC's questionnaire back to Commissioner Rehn on 9th Dec 2009(European Union, 2017). Upon receiving the document, he recommended the admission of Montenegro to the EU membership.

Visa liberalization of Montenegro citizens in 2009 marked a new era of unrestricted movement within the EU block. Holders of biometric passports could now travel within the Schengen areas. In 2010, the Commission issued a favorable opinion towards Montenegro's idea and granted the country an official candidature status. The citizens received the right to travel within Schengen. The decision was based on substantial progress the country showed in areas of security, justice, freedom, and fulfillment of certain conditions provided in the roadmap for visa liberalization (European Union, 2017). However, key priorities were highlighted, which required to be addressed before negotiations started.

The Council launched the accession process on 11th December 2011 and commenced negotiations with Montenegro on 29th June 2012. Programs such as the National Programme for Integration, which the Montenegro Government had prior adopted, represented a plan to facilitate the adoption of the EU acquis (European Union, 2017). Besides, such a program allowed the government to group the requirements into short-term and medium-term priorities. Montenegro has so far made significant progress in adopting legislation oriented with the EU acquis. Specific areas where the country has made more progress are in trade-related provisions, internal market, customs union, and taxation (European Union, 2017). With more efforts, Montenegro will also manage to comply with the acquis requirements regarding enterprise and industrial policy, financial and budgetary provisions, and security policies. As of April 2020, Montenegro had engaged in negotiations of thirty-two Chapters (European Western Balkans, 2019). There is only one Chapter remaining for the country to meet the 33 Chapters required.

In 2020, Montenegro is expected to open accession negotiations on Chapter 8- Competition, which is the only remaining Chapter. The country is already prepared since it has done all that was required in the area, and that the EU member states have also recognized the efforts (European Western Balkans, 2019). The schedule for an intergovernmental conference is expected to be released by the Member States and the European Commission (EC) to open the Chapter formally.

Policy-Making and Institutions

The EU's Asylum Policy

Asylum is a fundamental right under international law and is granted to people fleeing their own countries for fear of severe harm or persecution. It was first acknowledged in the 1951 Geneva Convection on the protection of refugees (European Union, 2020b). The EU has an area of open borders and freedom of movement, where countries share similar essential values. Member States are required to use a join approach to issues, therefore guaranteeing high standards of protection of refugees. Besides, the usage of fair and effective procedures is needed across the EU. As a result, the EU is in the process of developing a standard European Asylum System. The aim is to offer an appropriate status to any third-country citizen seeking international protection in one of its Member States. Besides, the presence of an asylum policy will assist in monitoring compliance of the principle of non-refoulment (European Union, 2020b). Therefore, this will facilitate the EU to set appropriate measures to control external borders, immigration, asylum, and combat crime.

In 2015, over one million asylum seekers arrived in Europe, exposing severe defects in the EU's asylum system. Since then, the political landscape and public debates in the EU have been altered drastically. Besides, the EU has applied various efforts in an attempt to reform the European Asylum System to avoid such surge in the future. The EU has implemented far-reaching agreements since 2016, with neighboring nations, as a way of curb irregular immigration. Examples include the EU-Turkey understanding, the joint support for search and rescue for immigrants from Libya immigrants at sea, and the closure of the Western Balkans migration route (Barslund et al., 2019). Another significant reform was the establishment of the Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM) in 2016.

MEDAM was established to improve the understanding of all asylum-interrelated challenges affecting the EU and its member states. It addressed all the problems that affected the asylum in the country by providing solutions that would favor their stay in the area. Besides, it would engage European policy formulators and civil societies in an open and expanded debate on the formulation of concrete and implementable solutions to the asylum-interrelated problems (Barslund, et al., 2019). MEDAM researchers have so far analyzed critical features of the European migration system and designed their mutual interdependence. Thus, there is a need to provide long term solution to the problem further.

Co-Decisions in the Asylum Policy-Making

The asylum policy is an essential legal document in the EU and its Member States. It follows the legal basis of Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and articles 67(2), 78, and 80 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (European Union, 2020b). These two refer explicitly to the Geneva Convectional of 28th July 1951, relating to the Status of Refugees. The policy-making process for the Asylum process was first advanced by the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice in 1999. Under the treaty, EU institutions were granted new powers to use specific institutional mechanisms and form legislations in the area of asylum.

The EU changed from establishing minimum standards into developing a system with uniform procedures and uniform status its member states. Also, the Stockholm Programme, which was adopted by the EC for the 2010-2014 period, reaffirmed the objective of the EU to establish one area with uniform protection and solidarity on a standard asylum procedure (European Parliament, 2020). Besides, a consistent status for individuals granted international security was established. Since then, the EU policy on asylum has undergone various reforms on the procedures and legislations used. The latest changes entail the establishment of new EU rules to set out common higher standards and stronger cooperation to ensure that asylum seekers are treated equally in an open and fair system.

Overall, the EU follows careful guidelines when designing laws and policies. The EU uses the ex "co-decision," which is a standard decision-making procedure and requires direct approval by the elected European Parliament (European Union, 2019). The decision-making process is designed to ensure the union comes up with better regulations that bring benefits to citizens, Member States, and other stakeholders. Also, the policy forming process is based on evidence, existing practices, and the level of political significance. Before a Commission proposes a new policy or law, various procedures must be followed. The Commission starts by expressing the initiative in a roadmap or inception impact assessment (European Union, 2019). The process is followed by an examination of the potential social, economic, and environmental consequences in an impact assessment. Then, the public and other stakeholders are requested to provide their inputs through public consultation.

Upon finalization of the draft, it is submitted for the inter-service consultation, and all concerned departments are consulted. Depending on the new policy's level of political significance, its initiative can either be agreed by the Commission via an oral procedure or written procedure during the Commissioner's weekly meetings (Euro...