On the Europeanization of minority rights protection: Comparing the cases of Greece and Turkey

Abstract

The transformation of the character of the European Union and the diffusion of European norms facilitated a drastic improvement of minority rights in Greece in the 1990s. Nonetheless, significant problems have persisted, which have undermined the credibility of the role model that Greece wishes to comprise for neighbouring EU candidate states. The situation was different in the 1990s when Turkey's EU candidacy gained impetus. The promulgation of the Copenhagen Criteria in 1993 meant that respect for minority rights became a condition for EU membership. It is argued in this study that minority rights protection in Greece and Turkey remains one of the fields where Europeanization has triggered considerable progress, but not fulfilled its full potential. The asymmetry between current and past EU membership criteria led Greece and Turkey to diverse experiences of Europeanization in the field of minority rights.