Comparison of the political and economic indicators of selected Balkan countries in context of efforts to join EU

The aim of the work is to comparate readiness of selected Balkan states for membership in European Union. I will target the former Republic of Macedonia, which has already been granted candidate status in 2005 and the Serbia and the Montenegro, which have the status of potentional candidates. The first section will focus on historical context, which effect the current political and economic situation. In the second part, I will make comparison of selected Balkan states in implementation of economic kriteria (particuraly the GDP, GDP growth rate, GDP per capita, unemployment, functioning market economy) and political criteria (human rights, democratic government, rule of law), which are part Copenhagen criteria for EU accession. Finally, I appraise the results of the comparison of the indicators listed above and recommend the time when these countries could be accepted