Ascertaining the Nature of the Link Between Enlarging and Reforming the European Union Whither the Copenhagen Absorption Capacity Criterion?

Abstract

Some, although not all, past reforms of the EU were connected to the accession of new Member States, and, likewise, the current reform proposals are often presented in the context of the Union’s possible next round of enlargement. This nexus between reforming and enlarging the Union has been formalised and justified as the Copenhagen absorption capacity criterion. But does this explanation actually hold up? This article examines the nature of the link between reforming and enlarging the EU against the backdrop of the newly discovered enlargement enthusiasm. The contribution demonstrates that, first, the current reform suggestions go much beyond what is actually needed to make the next round of enlargement possible, although they are framed in the enlargement discourse. Second, this article shows that in the past, reforms of the Union were only occasionally and partially necessitated by its enlargement, even when they were tied to it politically. It is suggested that the connection between enlarging and reforming the Union cannot be explained by the Copenhagen absorption capacity criterion alone. Instead, enlargement acts as a catalyst for reforms, providing a good political opportunity to resolve problems facing the Union irrespective of enlargement plans.