EU Accession and the Rule of Law Pre-accession Assistance and the Western Balkans

Foreword

1. The Evolution of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance: From Conception to Modern Implementation

Marko Novaković

2. Western Balkans on the Path to the EU: Progress and Challenges in Rule of Law Reforms

Marina Matić Bošković

3. EU Policy on Rule of Law in the Enlargement Context

Martijn Quinn

4. Impacts of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance on the Rule of Law in Albania

Julinda Beqiraj

5. Fighting Corruption with EU Funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Evaluating Institutional Capacity, Political Ownership, and Outcomes

Ajna Jodanović

6. From Assistance to Action? IPA’s Role in Strengthening the Rule of Law in North Macedonia

Elena Mujoska Trpevska

7. Impacts of the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance on Rule of Law in Montenegro: State of Play and Perspectives

Ksenija Jovićević Korać and Velibor Korać

8. EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance and ‘Limited Progress’ in Advancing the Rule of Law in Serbia

Marko Kmezic

9. Shaping Croatia's EU Path: The Impact of IPA Funds and the Ongoing Role of the RRF

Ana Krnić Kulušić and Martina Vrdoljak

10. The Rule of Law as the Cornerstone of the EU Project and Its Role in the Instruments for Pre-accession Assistance for Western Balkans

Maja Vitaljić

Biography

Marko Novaković is a Serbian legal scholar and policy expert, full professor of law, and senior research fellow at the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade. He holds a PhD in international law and a PMP certification. Educated in Serbia, Italy, and the Netherlands, with academic and professional experience in Germany, the UK, Slovakia, and other European countries, he has advised governments and international organisations on judicial reform, EU accession, and international law. The author of over 50 publications, he is one of the leading regional authorities on diplomatic and international immunities and serves in editorial and advisory roles with ASIL, ILA, and other academic institutions. He works in Serbian, English, and French.

Marina Matić Bošković is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade and a justice reform expert. She holds a PhD in European criminal law, with over 20 years of academic and professional experience across the Western Balkans, the European Union, and Eastern Partnership countries. She has advised governments and international organisations on judicial reforms, the EU accession process, criminal law legislative drafting, the organisation of the judiciary, and protection of fundamental rights, as well as judicial statistics. She is the author of more than 80 publications. Since 2015, she has been President of the Program Council of the Prosecutors Association of Serbia, and she has been a member of the IAP (International Association of Prosecutors) Committee of the Forum for Associations of Prosecutors.