Time frame: 2009-2013
Project managers: Christophe Hillion and Göran von Sydow

Five successive enlargements have led to a European Union comprising 27 Member States and nearly 500 million inhabitants. And the process continues: Nine countries are currently defined as candidate states or potential candidate states.

The aim of the project is two-fold. First, the intention is to analyse recent changes in the legal framework of enlargement as well as in practice. As the political unwillingness to increase the number of Member States grows, efforts by current members to control the enlargement process intensify. Such efforts may take the shape of proposals for referenda to approve of further enlargements, as well as attempts to enhance control through consulting national parliaments on important decisions related to EU expansion to new members.

Second, Sieps intends to shed light on the current enlargement processes towards Turkey and the Western Balkans. Formal accession negotiations with Turkey were initiated five years ago. Where do these negotiations stand today, what are the obstacles to progress, and to what extent is there a political receptiveness towards Turkish accession in the existing Member States? Similar questions will be highlighted as regards the countries of the Western Balkans and their aspirations towards becoming acknowledged candidates for membership