Negotiating Effectively for Accession to the European Union: Realistic Expectations, Feasible Targets, Credible Arguments

Nicolaides, Phedon (1998) Negotiating Effectively for Accession to the European Union: Realistic Expectations, Feasible Targets, Credible Arguments. EIPASCOPE 1998(1):pp. 1-6.

Abstract

[Introduction]. As the European Union is preparing to launch the discussions that will eventually lead to the admission of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Cyprus, a question that is increasingly being asked by the prospective members is what should they hope to obtain from those discussions or accession negotiations. They have already been told that the negotiations will determine their terms of accession and will ascertain their ability to assume the obligations of membership or ‘acquis communautaire’. In fact what they like to know is whether they could receive any exceptions or special treatment that will ease the pain of adjustment to life inside the EU. They want to know whether and how they can obtain derogations from the acquis. Yet, "derogation" is a dirty word in the European Union. No one admits it exists, nor that it is possible to obtain any during the accession negotiations. This short paper attempts to separate myth from reality and highlight what may be realistically pursued in the negotiations.... The rest of this short paper explains why negotiations are necessary, reviews the various types of derogations and provide examples from past accession negotiations to indicate what appears to be a feasible request for derogation and how past applicant countries presented and justified their requests.

Commentary/Response Threads

• Nicolaides, Phedon. Negotiating Effectively for Accession to the European Union: Realistic Expectations, Feasible Targets, Credible Arguments. (deposited 20 August 2003) [Currently Displayed]
  • Nicolaides, Phedon. The Boundaries of the Negotiating Power of the Candidates for Membership of the European Union: Some Theoretical Considerations and Practical Implications. (deposited 20 August 2003)