In the view of ongoing political debates about the future and scope of the European Union in general and about EU enlargement specifically, this paper addresses the readiness of Romania in terms of political requirements specified in the Copenhagen Criteria. A theoretically oriented section highlights approaches that explain the influence of the EU on reforms in (potential) candidate states. It concludes that it is the prospect of membership that supports reforms. The following section attempts a quantitative comparison regarding the political criterion between Romania and the baselines of (a) the EU 25, (b) the EU 12 and (c) the eight Central and Eastern European States that accessed the EU in 2004. The analysis thereby relies on the most recent data set of the World Bank Governance Indicators. The results suggest that Romania is factually far away from all three baselines in terms of the political criterion. Accordingly, the paper concludes that a postponement of accession in the framework of the existing treaties would be highly reasonable – both from the Romanian and the European perspective and apart from biases stemming from short term political interests that inform most often the contemporary debate.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Background
- Research questions
- Theoretical considerations: The prospect matters
- The state of Romania's democracy: attempting a quantitative comparison
- Limitations of measuring the Copenhagen political criterion
- World Bank Governance Indicators: Romania and the baselines
- Conclusion: Postponing the accession
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper examines Romania's readiness for EU membership, specifically focusing on the political requirements outlined in the Copenhagen Criteria. It investigates the influence of the EU on reforms in potential candidate states and analyzes Romania's performance in terms of democracy and rule of law compared to various baselines.
- The influence of EU membership prospects on reforms in candidate states
- The Copenhagen Criteria and its application to Romania's political system
- A quantitative comparison of Romania's political performance against the EU, the EU 12, and the CEEC 8
- The implications of Romania's performance for the timing of its EU accession
- The role of political interests in shaping the debate on EU enlargement
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter provides the context for the paper, highlighting the ongoing debate about the future of the European Union and the upcoming enlargement round. It emphasizes the importance of examining Romania's readiness for EU membership, particularly in light of the Copenhagen Criteria and the political criticisms surrounding corruption and shortcomings in law enforcement.
- Theoretical considerations: The prospect matters: This section examines the theoretical framework for understanding the impact of EU membership prospects on reforms in candidate states. It argues that the prospect of membership is a key driver of reform and highlights the importance of setting clear expectations for candidate countries.
- The state of Romania's democracy: attempting a quantitative comparison: This chapter delves into the analysis of Romania's performance in terms of the Copenhagen political criterion. It explores the limitations of measuring this criterion and utilizes data from the World Bank Governance Indicators to compare Romania's performance to the EU 25, EU 12, and the CEEC 8.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Key terms and topics explored in this paper include EU enlargement, Copenhagen Criteria, political criterion, democracy, rule of law, Romania, EU membership, reform, quantitative comparison, World Bank Governance Indicators, and accession postponement. These terms represent the core concepts and research focuses of the study.
- Quote paper
- Christian Rauh (Author), 2005, Fitting already in? Romania and the political criterion of Copenhagen, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/57147
