The Impact of European Union 2007 Enlargement on Turkey’s Democratic Commitment

Resumo

The European Union is a regional power concerned with some principles it stands for, such as the human rights or democracy. In order to pursue these principles, the EU uses a “carrot and stick” policy, helping the countries, but demanding real changes. Turkey, as a candidate for the full membership status, is object of this policy, as well as a very special case of accession to the EU, with which the Union has to deal. The path towards the accession has been going for decades and Turkey has seen many other countries overcoming the European barrier and achieving the goal of full membership. This work aims to find out what does the Bulgarian and Romanian full membership meant to Turkey in terms of its commitment and to what extent did the last enlargement contributed to a deeper engagement of Turkey with its own process of integration and subsequently with its democratic transition process.