There exist varying goals and different emphases throughout the EU enlargement process. Enlargement has been seen as a positive political obligation, not only for the EU but also for candidate countries, which assume that EU membership will bring more prosperity. However, such a statement may not be as valid for some states as it seemed only a few years ago. The article is looking answer to a question whether all the canons and requirements for the candidate states can be the same as they were before the Lisbon Treaty. The balance in competences between member states and the EU is changing. The European crisis and the formation of a ‘new Europe’ that may be more fragmented on the basis of belonging to the euro zone, Schengen area and other regional arrangements and finally the changes in global political agendas are influencing the enlargement processes. Article elaborates on the different problems the states like Bulgaria, Rumania or Balkans had in their accession process expected by different stakeholders.