Kosovo in the Process of EU Enlargement: Implementation of Political Criteria as one of ‘Copenhagen criteria’

The European Union (EU) as a unique economic and political union was founded in the 1950s to cultivate European values, peace, and prosperity. Since then, it has grown from 6 countries to 28, becoming a home for more than 500 million people. The EU continues to be very attractive to the non-member countries across the Europe continent and it is open for all democratic European countries that want to join. Specifically, since the early 2000s, the EU has opened the doors of membership to the countries of the Western Balkans. Yet, a part of Balkan is also Kosovo. This paper analyses the case of Kosovo and its path towards the EU integration. Hence, the paper offers an overview of the Union and its relations with Balkans. Here, the paper shows that while joining EU is a choice and all of the countries have in theory the opportunity to move forward on their way to it, this means that they have to fulfil the criteria set by the Union. Hence, the paper specifically focuses on Kosovo’s process of the enlargement and the implementation of the political criteria, also known as one of the three “Copenhagen Criteria”. Ultimately, this paper provides a clear account of what has been achieved so far in terms of the stability of the institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities