Benefits of EU Membership

The EU framework and its bodies provide an additional level of checks and balances over national governments regarding values and liberal democratic standards. In case of deficiencies at the national level, the EU provides citizens with further protection of their rights. Notably, Article 7 TEU sets out mechanisms for the EU regarding Member State's violations of EU values, including democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The process can result in the suspension of a country's membership rights, including voting rights. However, considering that the decision is taken at unanimity in the European Council, the procedure is notoriously incapable of sanctioning more than one Member State.

The prospect of EU membership is a very strong incentive for reforms. To fulfil accession conditions, candidate countries must have democratic institutions and respect the rule of law and human rights. In postdictatorship Greece, Portugal and Spain, the prospect of EU accession was an important driver for the strengthening of their democratic institutions. Today, democratic reforms and respect for the rule of law in the Western Balkans are guided by the pre-accession criteria and EU support. While incentives are very high for candidates, these may become less effective once countries become members.

Although recent developments in some Member States point to the limitations of the EU's apparatus for protecting democracy and the rule of law, one can assume that had those countries not been in the EU, their democratic situation would have been even worse.