EU INITIATIVES TO FIGHT CORRUPTION

Abstract: It has always been a significant goal for Western Balkan countries to obtain EU membership. The European Union admits new members when they achieve the democratic, economical, and political conditions and requirements. An important condition that must be met before an EU accession is possible is a reasonably active fight against corruption, something that Croatia has been successful with. This paper proposes that the EU’s initiatives are important for the Western Balkan countries to combat corruption. To better assess whether the EU’s initiatives are helping Western Balkan countries to fight corruption, the paper takes upon two case studies – Albania and Croatia. The study uses textual analysis to understand the EU’s initiatives to combat corruption as well as an explorative approach to understand the reasons why the EU succeeded in one case but failed in the other. The paper aims to enhance the understanding of the importance of the EU’s initiatives when fighting corruption and what it contributes to the countries.