The Minority Condition in EU Enlargement: The Eastern Enlargement and Turkey

Abstract

Protection of minorities is one of the conditions that the EU applies to candidate countries. This article evaluates the consequences of EU minority policies for Turkey by comparing the EU’s impact on minorities in Hungary, Estonia and Latvia during the Eastern enlargement to the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Bearing in mind the EU’s security considerations regarding minorities, the article argues that the Kurdish issue, which the EU treats as a minority issue, currently remains one of its security concerns. The EU has been unable to alleviate its concerns and its impact has remained limited compared to the other cases. Problems between Turkey and the EU and deficiencies in EU minority policy have helped sustain Turkey’s traditional policies and domestic preferences regarding the Kurdish issue.

Keywords

Minorities in the EU, Eastern Enlargement, Security, Conditionality, Kurdish Issue.

Citation

Yazgan, Hatice, “The Minority Condition in EU Enlargement: The Eastern Enlargement and Turkey”, International Relations, Volume 12, Issue 47, pp. 99-114.

Affiliations

• Hatice YAZGAN, Assoc. Prof. Dr., Çankırı Karatekin University, Department of International Relations