Becoming an EU Member State? - Understanding the Concept of "acquis communautaire"

On 17 June 2022, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, issued a joint statement on Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia's EU membership applications. This would imply that these countries would be required to comply with the so-called "Acquis communautaire", which refers to the collected legislations, legal standards, judicial decisions, and fundamental principles upon which the EU is established, such as equality and non-discrimination. In a word, it is EU law, which consists of about 108.000 papers that all member states must follow and applicant nations must meet in order to become members.

However, since such regulations essentially explain how the EU and its member states function, they cannot be defined solely by changes in the law. The modifications occur in a variety of ways, which we refer to as chapters of acquis communautaire. The acquis is not static; rather, it is dynamic and changes regularly as the EU evolves.

The acquis is divided into chapters that cover a wide range of topics, from the free movement of goods, workers, and capital to education, culture, and the environment. There are 31 chapters in total. However, the EU had put forward 35 chapters to be fulfilled for Croatia and Turkey as they started their negotiation processes on the same date: 3 October 2005. Since 2013, Croatia is a full member, whereas, Turkey still remains to be a candidate.

Each chapter is negotiated separately, and each chapter has a set of conditions for opening or closing. These discussions took held during Intergovernmental Conferences between member countries and the candidate country.

However, accession criteria, often known as Copenhagen criteria, include more than just completing the acquis. With being the bulk of it, the countries also must persuade the EU and its member states that the country has political stability and institutions that promote democratic and human rights ideals. Furthermore, a functioning market economy is required since the EU is heavily reliant on Euro integration as well. Acquis, as the third point of reference, also includes the criteria for having administrative competence to implement EU acquis.

A chapter is only closed when every EU government accepts that the applicant country has demonstrated a satisfactory procedure in that field. The accession treaty is signed as the remaining chapters are completed. It is a document that binds the candidate country to be a member of the integration, but it is not final and binding until it receives the support of the EU Council, the Commission, and the European Parliament; or it is signed by the candidate country and all EU member states; or it is ratified by the candidate country and all EU member states in accordance with the countries' constitutional rules. As all of these elements are finalized, the acceding country becomes a member state on the date indicated in the treaty.

In conclusion, completing the acquisition of Communautaire chapters is one of the benchmarks in the EU accession discussions, and they substantially change the country's approach to politics, legislation, and institutions. As a result, these candidate countries begin to adopt European-style laws and decisions in order to complete the chapters. European Union appears to be positive about starting a new chapter with Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. As a result, these countries will take these moves, and the outcome will be determined only by time.