Copenhagen Political Criteria Research Articles

Are candidate countries converging with the EU in terms of the Copenhagen political criteria?

ABSTRACT The Copenhagen criteria for EU accession are the essential preconditions that candidate countries must satisfy to be deemed eligible for membership. In line with the strand of the literature that focuses on candidate countries’ convergence with the EU, the paper examines whether converge with the EU in terms of the Copenhagen political criteria can be established empirically for candidate and potential-candidate countries. Currently, the candidate country status is granted to Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Bosnia–Herzegovina and Kosovo are recognized by the EU as potential candidate countries. In addition to the candidate and potential candidate countries, we include in the convergence tests the six countries of the Eastern Partnership EU policy: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. Using unit root tests, convergence is examined in terms of two indices drawn from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project: the Liberal democracy and the Civil liberties indices. The findings reported herein, are not uniform and on the whole offer only scant evidence in favour of the convergence hypothesis. For some of the candidate and potential candidate countries convergence is established, while for others the results do not point to such a process.

Is the European Commission a credible guardian of the values?

During the Big Bang enlargement (1997–2004) the European Commission was responsible for preparing 10 countries from Central and Eastern Europe for membership of the European Union. To achieve this aim, the Commission had to explain the meaning of the Copenhagen political criteria, which required candidate countries to achieve “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.” Academic analysis has delivered a negative verdict on whether the Commission succeeded in explaining to candidates what the political criteria meant. This received wisdom undermines the credibility of the Commission’s current efforts to safeguard the values vis-a-vis Poland and Hungary. But was the Commission’s work really so deficient? This article looks back at the Commission’s view on the meaning of the Copenhagen political criteria during the pre-accession period. It concludes that while the Commission’s work was far from flawless, it articulated a clear vision on the core meaning of the political accession criteria, and strongly criticized policies which have become the hallmark of Poland’s and Hungary’s current illiberal governments. The current policies of Hungary and Poland can and should be assessed in terms of the commitments made to the Copenhagen political criteria during pre-accession.

The Otherness of Turkey in European Integration

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses how Turkey’s otherness to European identity, as represented by the European Union (EU), was turned into an asset during the beginning of the AKP rule. To the extent that the AKP represented the Islamic cultural other against both the secular establishment of Turkey and the EU, its promise to fulfill the Copenhagen political criteria and adopt EU norms and standards provided a possibility of ‘a model’ for the EU. This was the promise of a self-transforming cultural other becoming a part of the EU normative order and representing this system in its region. In the period between 2002 and 2005, there was a compromise on Turkey’s projected identity between the EU and the AKP. Yet this early promise and the ensuing compromise could not be sustained and realized in the following phases of the AKP rule. First stagnation between 2005 and 2010 and then a break wasted this promising new beginning.

The evolution of the political criteria for accession to the European Community, 1957–1973

AbstractThis article describes the evolution of political conditions for accession to the European Community from 1957 to 1973 on the basis of the responses of the Community and national parliaments to applications for association (Article 238 EC Treaty) and membership (Article 237 EC Treaty) and to a US foreign policy initiative. It challenges the thesis that the European Community was originally uninterested in the political nature of its members as long as they were non‐communist and that the Community made a volte face in 1962 in reaction to a request for an association agreement by Franco's Spain. It argues that the Copenhagen political criteria, except minority protection, were firmly established by 1973 after a series of pronouncements and decisions by the European Parliament, national parliaments (both 1962), the Commission (1967) and the Council (1973). The article aims to contribute to the early history of the constitutionalization of the Union and discusses how demands from outsiders prompted the Six to define the constitutional requirements for (candidate) members. It is partly based on new archival research.

Assessing the “Quality of Democracy” in Turkey

ABSTRACTTurkey is a case of a Muslim-majority country that has known an experience of representative democracy almost uninterrupted since the Second World War. The historical passages that have characterized the path to democracy in Turkey have configured the current set of powers. The aim of this article is to explore how the democratization process in Turkey is relevant in procedural, substantive, and result terms. In the first part is undertaken a historical overview from the perspective of modernization and democratic consolidation carried out by Turkey, also on the basis of the ability to meet the requirements of the Copenhagen political criteria. The second part investigates eight dimensions in which democracy spreads its effects in order to assess the quality of democracy of Turkey.

The eu–Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and Turkey’s eu Accession Process

After the Treaties of Rome in 1957, Turkey started negotiations with the European Communities to define a framework for cooperation. The result was the Ankara Agreement (1965), which established economic cooperation and provided for an eu–Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (jpc), conceived as a discussion forum to encourage the democratic transition of Turkey. This article analyses the main phases and obstacles in Turkey’s accession process, focusing on relations between the European Parliament and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, and on the effectiveness of European Parliament and jpc activities. The analysis particularly considers the respect for the Copenhagen political criteria with regard to minorities’ rights, the Cyprus dispute, and the role of religion in Turkey. The concluding remarks discuss the European Parliament’s role in overcoming the current deadlock in the Turkish accession process.

Economic Integration Problem of Turkey: An Evaluation about Shanghai Cooperation Organization within the Frame of Alternative Searches

When the economic developments analyzed after World War II, the economic integration movements, which include the liberalization of countries’ economic relations between each other, draw attention. In terms of world trade, globalization tendencies on one hand and regionalization tendencies on the other hand are being experienced. While global trade is shaped by Customs Tariffs and GATT, which propose the elimination of the limitations for customs tariffs and other trade limitations between countries, regional economic integrations are shaped differently between the countries that are geographically close to each other. Turkey has been found in the global and Original Research Article Eroglu et al.; BJEMT, 13(2): 1-18, 2016; Article no.BJEMT.24230 2 regional economic integration initiatives; and it’s in the negotiation phase for the EU membership, while the country is already a member of World Trade Organization (WTO), The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8), Organization of the Black Sea Economic Organization (BSEC), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The fact that Turkey’s attempts for global-regional economic and political integrations did not give the expected results has brought different searches. This study contains an evaluation of Turkey’s seek for new integrations as determinants of democracy in the scale of democratic index, which consists of some criteria like free and fair elections, pluralism, good governance, political participation, political culture and freedom, and an evaluation between EU and SCO alternatives. In the light of the assessment it has been concluded that SCO is not a suitable alternative for Turkey because of the fact that its priority is zone’s safety, it does not contain economic cooperation and its inefficient democratic foundation comparing with the EU. According to these facts, Turkey should continue with the EU membership negotiations and it should show necessary sensitivity for adjusting to Copenhagen political criteria which forms EU’s political criteria, and Maastricht economic criteria which forms EU’s economic criteria.

HUKUK DEVLETİ VE KOPENHAG KRİTERLERİ AÇISINDAN TÜRKİYE

The Council of Europe declared in the Statute of the Council of Europe in May 1949 that the Contracting Parties reaffirming their devotion to the spiritual and moral values which are the common heritage of their peoples and the true source of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law, principles which form the basis of all genuine democracy. As the European Community has recognised the implementation and strengthening of democratic Norms require a strengthening ofthe rule of law. The effective rule oflaw depends on the assurance ofthe supremacy of law, the transparency ofdecision-making process, the independence ofjudiciary and respectfor citizens' rights. A candidate country must achieve stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities under the Copenhagen political criteria decided by the Copenhagen European Council. In this article, Turkey's problems related to rule o f law are examined within the concept of Copenhagen criteria.

Equitable Representation of Communities in Public Administration in Republic of Macedonia as One of the Copenhagen Political Criteria for EU Membership

Given that the Republic of Macedonia is a candidate country for membership since 2005, with a tendency to join the European Union, in the framework of this paper will analyze the implementation of the Copenhagen political criteria. Through this paper I will address a political segment, which deals with the representation of the communities in Public Administration, because the topics in question usually promote various debates and policy assessments about the fulfillment of this criterion. The essence of this research has to do with an objective, outside political calculations, but is based on statistical analysis of institutions and official documents. Also, within the paper will analyze recent reports by the European Commission on the progress of Macedonia in the Euro- integration process, the part of the representation of the community.In this research, in addition to an analysis of official documents to represent the community, I made an analysis of interviews conducted with officials - responsible for implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, the charge for the fair representation of communities in central government bodies the Republic of Macedonia. Not only that, but I will draw lessons and conclusions which will have the aim to provide a motivating effect on the implementation of the Copenhagen political criteria. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n3p66

Der Europäische Minderheitenbegriff Entwicklung und Wirkung. Teil II

Within the EU, the concept and rights of minorities play an important role, especially within the frame of the Copenhagen political criteria, which set the essential conditions that all candidate countries must satisfy to become a member state. According to these criteria, the candidate countries have to provide stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. How and according to which criteria minorities within the EU are established and what kind of rights they have within the EU are examined in this essay, taking into account the historical development of the European concept of minorities and the content of the relevant documents in international law. Even within the EU, a universally recognized and binding concept of minorities does not exist. To determine which minorities are supposed to be protected, some regularly applied characteristics have been developed within the political process and by some authorities of the EU. In spite of a lack of codification, these characteristics can be considered to be constant and continuous criteria of a European minority definition. These are the following criteria: (1) numerical inferiority, (2) non-dominant position, (3) distinctive ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics, (4) citizenship of the country of residence and (5) explicitly made known sense of affiliation and solidarity. This means concretely that a minority can only be (1) a group of persons being numerically smaller than the rest of the population, (2) which may not have a dominant position in the state in the form of a sole right to make decisions, (3) which at least has to show a specific ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristic distinguishing them from the rest of the population, (4) members of which have to be citizens of their country of residence and (5) who have declared their membership and solidarity with their group of people. These five criteria have to be fulfilled cumulatively in order to be able to qualify a group of people as “minority”.

Europeanization of Political Elite Discourses in Turkey: A Content Analysis of Parliamentary Debates 1994–2002

This article assesses the relative importance of EU‐level factors in the Europeanization of political elite discourses on the Copenhagen political criteria by evaluating alternative explanations of national contextual, party‐level, and intraparty‐level factors. The article argues that the Helsinki summit decision in December 1999 to recognize Turkey as a candidate helped place the issues of democracy, human rights, and rule of law in the discourses of Turkish political elites more decisively. However, it also argues that national context, party‐level, and intraparty‐level factors played a critical role providing a favorable and receptive environment for the EU's political criteria for membership to become a central concern for political elites in Turkey by creating an elite consensus on democratization in the months preceding the Helsinki summit.

Pro-EU and Eurosceptic Circles in Turkey

The recognition of Turkey as a candidate country for EU membership at the Helsinki Summit of December 1999 has provided a new basis for Turkey–EU relations after long years of association. Post-Helsinki dynamics have strengthened the position of pro-EU circles in Turkey. However, continuing debates between pro-EU and Eurosceptic circles still constitute an important domestic factor shaping the dynamics of Turkey's candidacy process. The interaction between these circles is characterized by cleavages on political and economic aspects such as compliance with the Copenhagen political criteria and the obligations of the customs union between Turkey and the EU. In fact, such debates are influenced particularly by the EU's stance over Turkey's membership. Positive signals from the EU help to strengthen the position of pro-EU circles. On the other hand, ambiguous signals and controversial declarations from Europe tend to have a negative impact on the credibility of the EU's conditionality, amplify the arguments of Eurosceptics, and thereby undermine Turkish public opinion's support for EU membership.

EU's Numerous Contradictory Approaches to Minority Protection: Internal-External Paradox and Mutually Exclusive Pre-Accession Standards

The paper makes a sketch of the available European minority protection standards, discussing the most important of them as well as focusing on the relations between the standards available. While a number of legal instruments potentially able to contribute to the elaboration of an EU minority protection standard are available they are mostly limited to guaranteeing simple non-discrimination, which is not enough to ensure minority protection stricto sensu, as outlined e. g. by the PCIJ in the Albanian Schools case. The lack of any viable internal minority protection standard did not prevent the EU from treating minority protection as one of the key-elements of the pre-accession exercise leading to the fifth enlargement, reinforcing the internal - external competence divide and reducing the effectiveness of minority protection in the EU. Although minority protection was one of the Copenhagen political criteria and thus was at the core of the conditionality principle presupposing a fair assessment of the candidate countries' progress on the merits, the Commission clearly used minority protection in a discriminatory way, tolerating the standard of assimilation in one group of the candidate countries (Latvia, Estonia) and backing cultural autonomy in others. Thus, alongside with the internal toleration or simple denial of minority problems, the Commission simultaneously promoted two contradicting approaches to the issue: de facto assimilation (prohibited by art. 5(2) of the Framework Convention) and cultural autonomy, bringing to life a complicated web of partly overlapping - partly contradicting standards. Out of such practice myriad problems arose. An imminent need to change this approach is obvious.

Minority Language Rights Before and After the 2004 EU Enlargement: The Copenhagen Criteria in the Baltic States

This paper examines the effect of the recent European Union (EU) enlargement on minority language policies in the Baltic states, and in particular in Latvia and Estonia. I first look at the so-called Copenhagen political criteria conditioning EU accession and at the European Commission's monitoring system for assessing applicant countries' compliance with such criteria. Focusing on changing language policies in Latvia and Estonia in the post-Soviet era, I then investigate whether accession negotiations between these countries and the Commission have resulted in defining new thresholds of minority language protection both domestically and in the EU. If so, have such minority rights standards become an acquis communautaire and could they then be applied to ‘older’ member states in retrospect?

Failing the EU Test? Turkey's National Programme, EU Candidature and the Complexities of Democratic Reform

Democracy and human rights are frequently perceived as barriers to Turkey's accession to the EU. The recent publication of the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis has done little to allay concerns that the country continues to 'fail the EU test' by failing to meet the Copenhagen political criteria. However, Turkey readily accepts EU 'interference' when it accords with national policy objectives. The lack of consistency in Turkey's approach to aligning domestic democratic norms with those of the EU is the result of divisions within the political elites. It is argued that EU integration provides a framework within which greater domestic legitimacy and international credibility could be achieved.

Turkey-EU Relafions in the Aftermath of the Helsinki Summit: An Analysis of Copenhagen Political Criteria in lightof the Accession Partnership, National Programme and the Regular Reports

Turkey-EU Relafions in the Aftermath of the Helsinki Summit: An Analysis of Copenhagen Political Criteria in lightof the Accession Partnership, National Programme and the Regular Reports