Page 7 - EU Legislation Behind the EU Accession Process, Accession Criteria and Accession Stages

EU Legislation Behind the EU Accession Process, Accession Criteria and
Accession Stages

Article 49 of the Treaty of the European Union represents the
main legal basis for accessing the Union. It stipulates that any European
state which respects human dignity, fundamental freedoms, democracy,

equality, the rule of law and human rights, including minority rights,
may apply to become an EU member.
Furthermore, the following criteria for EU membership have
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been introduced at the EU Copenhagen summit of 1993:
- The applicant state should be run by stabile democratic
institutions which can guarantee democracy, the rule of law and the
protection of human rights, including minority rights.

- The applicant State should be a functional market economy in
order to cope with competitive pressure from the part of other market
forces in the EU.
- The applicant State should be able to take EU membership

obligations as well as be loyal to the objectives of a political, economic
and monetary union.
In 1995, the EU Madrid summit adopted an additional condition
for EU membership; namely, an EU candidate country should be able to

implement EU laws and ensure their effective implementation by
relevant national administrative and judiciary bodies.
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Some would say that the above-described criteria look quite
general. It is true. Therefore, in order to draw a detailed trajectory for

1 Accession Criteria (Copenhagen Criteria)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/summary/glossary/accession_criteria_copenhague.html
2 Treaty on European Union — Joining the EU
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Al14536
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