Alternatives to EU Membership. The Case of Turkey
Alternatives to EU Membership. The Case of Turkey

Summary/Abstract: After 1 May 2004, a change in the way EU member states perceived further Union enlargement became increasingly apparent. More and more European politicians began to believe that the crisis over ratifying the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe showed the need for greater prudence in admitting new members. According to these politicians, although the geo-strategic argument has dominated thinking about the enlargement process, is still being raised (by Olli Rehn, Member of the European Commission responsible for Enlargement, for example1) and has played a major role in NATO, the EU is intended to be a political union. Therefore, in making decisions about further enlargement, what has to be considered is primarily the EU’s ability to admit new members. This criterion for accession, being one of the Copenhagen criteria, was taken into consideration before, but not to the same degree as after 1 May 2004.2 During work on the Reform Treaty, the Netherlands, which is sceptical about further EU enlargement, postulated that the above condition should be included in the text of a new legal act along with the remaining Copenhagen criteria (some are already contained in treaties in force). Ultimately, this proposal was not accepted, however.

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