The enlargement strategy and the accession of new Member States acts as a guarantee of EU policy implementation and the success of Europe as a whole. While there will be no further EU enlargement during its term of office (2014-2019), the ongoing enlargement process will continue. The process has now reached the point where enlargement discussions with Turkey have been put on hold for various political reasons. At the same time however, the Western Balkan countries, which are surrounded by EU Member States, have started to participate directly in European Commission policies; in addition to the enlargement process, they are also closely involved in the EU’s migration policy (Western Balkans route) and related policy areas, including security.







