The European Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance: the case of Turkey as a beneficiary country

Abstract

This study is designed to focus on the historical as well as the legal function and the goals of the technical and financial assistance to the Enlargement countries as this assistance is currently provided through the Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). Secondarily, it specifies and evaluates the implementation and impact of the EU financial aid on Turkey as a beneficiary country within the framework of the country’s alignment to the EU standards and the europeanization process of its domestic policy. In particular, in chapter I, the current developments and challenges of the EU Enlargement Policy are outlined. After a brief review of the EU financial support historical background in chapter II, the aim of chapters III and IV is to outline the role and the function of the current Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance as well as the new sense which is introduced by the proposed new Instrument for the period 2014-2020. Subsequently, the next chapters of this study are focused on Turkey as a beneficiary country and its europeanization process. In particular, after a brief review of the historical background between the European Union and Turkey in chapter V, the state of play in Turkey coupled with the pre-accession financial aid of the EU is cited in chapter VI. Moreover, in chapter VII, an overall of the examination of the progress reports on Turkey covering the period 2008 – 2012 reveals the areas where significant changes took place in compliance with the related Copenhagen criteria, in the field of Turkey’s europeanization process. Finally, this study concludes some remarks in point of the evaluation of IPA on Turkey’s EU membership perspective as well as the expectations of the new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance.