Croatia’s admission to the European Union this week is being accompanied by celebrations throughout Europe. Whether toasts are being made to genuine change or to a sad hoax remains to be seen.

Croatia is the second former Yugoslav nation to join, after Slovenia in 2004 and it has developed significantly since declaring independence in 1991. The EU admission process has prompted difficult social, political, and economic reforms, but there are those who believe it missed the mark on corruption.

The criticisms are reminiscent of the last EU expansion in 2007 which brought in Bulgaria and Romania.

A Lesson Learnt or Lost?

Both of those recent new members suffered from high levels of corruption despite requirements to strengthen the rule of law before admission. Corruption remains serious there. As proof, last month a politically connected but unqualified media mogul was appointed to head Bulgaria’s intelligence agency so quickly and with so little debate that questions about influence peddling and cronyism arose. Protesters called for the government to resign.

And in Romania, an ex-prime minister was jailed last year for stealing more than $1.9 million to fund a reelection campaign. The EU was “fully aware of all the deficiencies” in both Romania and Bulgaria prior to enlargement, says Duje Prkut, a researcher with GONG, a Croatian watchdog group. To counter them, the EU implemented a novel monitoring program intended to strengthen anti-corruption measures and the rule of law in both countries.

The so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism evokes mixed reactions. Detractors believe it has not stopped the stagnation of anti-corruption efforts. “I think that if [the EU] had a second opportunity they would spend much more time on rethinking if they should do this,” Prkut said. Others believe the mechanism has had a lasting positive impact. Monica Macovei, a member of the European Parliament and former Romanian justice minister, said the program, which she championed in 2007, has led to major successes. She pointed to Romanian politicians convicted for corruption as evidence.

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