Creeping EU Membership in South‐east Europe: The Dynamics of EU Rule Transfer to the Western Balkans

Abstract The countries of the Western Balkans have all been subsumed under a pre‐accession framework that is comparable to previous enlargement rounds, but with two main differences: the EU has thus far refrained from naming a timetable for eventual membership and supports flexible forms of integration in different policy fields. With only a loose prospect of membership, how strong is the EU’s influence in the Western Balkans? With our empirical examples, drawn from energy policy and Justice and Home Affairs, we argue that the incentive of membership remains powerful in terms of initiating EU rule transfer. The key to successful rule adoption in the Western Balkans is to provide clear and tangible short‐term incentives. Rather than full membership, the result is sectoral integration and a creeping process towards EU membership.