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EU Conditionality and Minority Rights: Translating the Copenhagen Criterion into Policy

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  • Gwendolyn Sasse

Abstract

Human and minorities map an area in which the EU's external relations have pushed for a (partial) rethinking of the EU's internal values, objectives and policies. While minority issues have been at the forefront of the enlargement rhetoric and are often singled out as a prime example of the EU's positive stabilising impact in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the EU has in fact promoted norms which lack a basis in EU law and do not directly translate into the acquis communautaire. The analysis of EU conditionality presented in this paper will proceed in two steps. Firstly, the EU's minority criterion will be 'unpacked' both in terms of its inherent dilemmas and the way in which the EU translated it into an institutional process. Secondly, this paper locates the EU's minority criterion in the domestic political context of three accession countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Romania) in order to establish the balance between internal and external incentives for policy change and the effectiveness of EU conditionality. The empirical evidence suggests that, on balance, international actors and a vaguely defined European norm framed the debates and perceptions and affected the timing and nature of specific pieces of legislation, while the domestic political constellations and pressures ultimately had a more significant effect on the institutional and policy outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Gwendolyn Sasse, 2005. "EU Conditionality and Minority Rights: Translating the Copenhagen Criterion into Policy," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 16, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
  • Handle: RePEc:erp:euirsc:p0154
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. James Hughes, 2005. "‘Exit’ in Deeply Divided Societies: Regimes of Discrimination in Estonia and Latvia and the Potential for Russophone Migration," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 739-762, November.
    2. Gwendolyn Sasse, 2005. "Securitization or Securing Rights? Exploring the Conceptual Foundations of Policies towards Minorities and Migrants in Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 673-693, November.
    3. Gwendolyn Sasse & Eiko Thielemann, 2005. "A Research Agenda for the Study of Migrants and Minorities in Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 655-671, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Copenhagen criteria; minorities; Hungary; Slovakia; Romania;
    All these keywords.

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