Abstract:

One of the primary themes which occupies the agenda of the European Union is the issue of enlargement. After the accession of Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995, the Union is faced with the task of making a decision concerning the member- ship of applicant Central, Eastern, and Southern European countries. Following, the conclusion of the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, the enlargement negotiations with Cyprus and possibly Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, are due to start. (i.e. Malta withdrew its application following the change of government in the general electrions of 26.1 0.1996). In this context, Turkey occupies a unique position. It con- cluded an association agreement with the European Community in 1963 which is much earlier than the other applicant countries. However, especially after 1989, Tur- key has fallen behind in the list of potential members to the Union. While the acces- sion of Cyprus, and the Central and Eastern European Countries is only a matter of time, Turkey's membership does not seem likely to happen. One of the main argu- ments put forth against the Turkish application is Turkey's poor human rights record. In this context, the article tries to explore the significance of human rights considera- tions in the European Union's enlargement process by way of referring to the conclu- sions of the European Council meetings, and attempts at stressing the importance of improving the human rights situation in Turkey in order to develop Turkey-European Union relations. 

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