Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2011, 47(3): 473-506 | DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2011.47.3.02

Are There Visible Accession Effects? Comparing Some Key Indicators of the Trajectories of Central and Eastern European Countries Inside and Outside the EU since the 1990s

Jens Alber, Anne Christine Holtmann, Susanne Marquardt

Social Science Research Center, Berlin

Comparing four groups of post-communist transition countries-those which became EU members, those with candidate status, and two groups which are considered mere partners with or without a future membership perspective-the authors examine to what extent there are visible accession effects. The basic assumption is that countries which were under the pressure of the Copenhagen criteria and under constant EU supervision should have developed more favourably than the others with respect to good governance, dynamic market economy growth, and public policies in line with the idea of a European social model. The empirical analysis seeks to clarify to what extent there were selection effects prior to EU candidacy, to what extent countries with and without a membership option diverged, and to what extent there was convergence within the groups of member states, of candidate countries and of other post-socialist countries. Accession effects are found to be more discernible in the fields of economic growth and of political democracy than in the fields of social cohesion and quality of life.

Keywords: European Union, Eastern enlargement, neighbourhood policy, accession effects, Copenhagen criteria, positive and negative integration

Published: June 1, 2011Show citation