ECHOES OF EUROPEANISATION OF SPATIAL PLANNING IN EU CANDIDATE COUNTRIES : THE CASES OF SERBIA AND BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Abstract: Although not an exclusive EU competence, spatial planning in European countries has been influenced by a variety of Union policies and initiatives. This phenomena, labeled as ‘Europeanisation’, is understood as a multi-faceted process of institutionalization of both formal (rules, standards) and informal (norms, concepts, ideas) Community provisions into national planning cultures. However, this process has not been limited to the EU member states only. Countries which have already obtained the official EU candidacy, as well as potential candidates, are also subject to influences coming from the Union. Spatial planning in candidate countries has been affected not only through formal requirements of the EU accession process, but also through other informal channels of Community influence, including different learning and knowledge exchange processes facilitated by the EU. The present study seeks to discover and account for evidence of Europeanisation of spatial planning in EU candidate countries on the example of Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. In particular, it aims to analyse the ongoing change of spatial planning structures, instruments and discourses under the umbrella of European integration. The findings suggest that the EU has only nominally impacted domestic planning in candidate countries, often in relation to formal compliance with Union policies, and without veritable effects on planning practices and actual spatial development.