La réforme de la stratégie d'élargissement de l'Union européenne : instrument des jumelages, apprentissages et transferts politiques

In: Revue d'études comparatives est-ouest: RECEO, Band 34, Heft 3, S. 37-63

Abstract

The EU's fifth enlargement to include Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) has led to new policy instruments, which will become a common feature in future enlargement rounds. Drawing on policy transfers literature, new forms of governance and sociology of organizations, the EU's role and its administrative conditionality are closely examined through civil service reforms in Central and Eastern Europe. The introduction of the Twinning exercise as part of a 1997 reform package is analyzed, as well as the procedural changes necessary for facilitating the temporary assignment of member states' civil servants in Eastern and Central European administrations. Using semi- voluntary forms of coordination among member and applicant states is a new trend in decision-making at the EU level. Nonetheless, enlargement policies do not allow for the full transfer of member states' institutional models or structures toward candidate countries. The EU's conditionality on administrative capacity at the sectoral level has gained momentum since civil servants from member states have been associated with the accession process.