ABSTRACT
The Western Balkans are a prime target for EU action in justice and home affairs (JHA). With Croatia joining in 2013, the EU’s Stabilization and Association Process for the Western Balkans now encompasses Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Macedonia. These states have particularly close relations with the EU under the enlargement framework, and strive towards full membership (for an overview of the state of relations, see Kmezić 2015; Damjanovski et al. 2016). At the same time, they continue to struggle with bilateral conflicts, open constitutional questions, authoritarian tendencies and entrenched organized crime networks. The region was also at the forefront of the refugee crisis of 2015 and early 2016. Most newly arrived migrants crossed the Western Balkans on their route from Greece to Northern European states. Tackling these security-, migration- and rule of law-related challenges has become a priority for the EU, also with a view to realizing the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice within the EU (e.g., Trauner 2011; Geddes et al. 2012; Mungiu-Pippidu 2011; Nechev 2013).
