Zamor

when enlargement fatigue goes hand in hand with accession fatigue

Authors

Keywords:

European Union, Enlargement Policy, accession fatigue, North Macedonia

Abstract

Following the accession of 12 candidate states between 2004 and 2007, the European Union’s enlargement process stagnated for a prolonged period. Except for Croatia, which became a member in 2013, none of the other Balkan states that applied for membership have achieved this goal. This article aims to recap the evolution of the Enlargement Policy since 2004 and to explore explanatory factors for the uncommon duration of these applications and which have led to a simultaneous ‘enlargement fatigue’ and ‘accession fatigue’. The specific case of North Macedonia will be used as a case study.

Author Biography

Pascoal Santos Pereira, UPT

Researcher at Instituto Jurídico Portucalense and Assistant Professor in the Department of Law of Universidade Portucalense. He holds a PhD in International Politics and Conflict Resolution from Universidade de Coimbra, and his research interests include theories of nationalism, conflict prevention and peaceful coexistence in multi-ethnic societies.

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Published

2026-08-17

Issue

No. SI (2025): Enlargement and the future of the European Union

Section

Artigos