Countries and Its Significance for Their EU Accession Process

This paper analyses the role of regulatory reform in the transition process of Western Balkan countries and its importance for the acceleration of their EU accession process. The authors explore the progress achieved in this reform area in the region, with the main focus on regulatory reform policies, regulatory impact analysis (RIA), public consultation and simplification of the existing regulation. They also elaborate the importance of regulatory reform for the fulfillment of Copenhagen criteria, in the context of the improvement of legal and regulatory environment, as an important factor for the improvement of the competitiveness of the countries from this region. The paper concludes that regulatory reform became one of the most important segments of Western Balkan countries’ reform agenda, and its continuation is of a crucial importance for the continuation of their transition and EU accession process. As the global financial and economic crisis gave more importance to the quality of regulations and regulatory reform, bringing them into the focus of strategies for fighting the crisis, countries of the region could benefit from this approach, making regulatory reform a key vehicle for promoting support for economic recovery and growth. Such approach would positively influent the acceleration of their EU accession progress.