European Union Regional Policy and Evaluation of Turkey’s Harmonisation

Autori:

Ibrahim Cagan KAYA, Sema GUN

Cod: ISSN: 1583-3410 (print), ISSN: 1584-5397 (electronic)
Dimensiuni: pp. 112-126

How to cite this article:

Kaya, I.C., GUN, S. (2017). European Union Regional Policy and Evaluation of Turkey's Harmonisation. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 58, 112-126.

Abstract:

The European Union (EU), whose foundations were laid with the Treaty of Rome in 1957, enabled the regional development of the member nations; the union was generally aimed at attaining prosperity, and the EU Regional Policy was developed to achieve this aim. Since establishment, the Union gradually expanded to 28 members. In each expansion, regions were added which were economically and socially undeveloped, and these differences between the dynamics of each region gradually caused regional policies to be revised and reformed. The regional policy includes not only member states, but nations which are candidates for membership are also included. It is thought that candidate nations can more easily achieve conformity with the EU by solving their problems of regional difference at a national level. Turkey’s 2005 candidate country status has been made official, and work has begun on achieving conformity with the EU. Work carried out on Chapter 22, the Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments, is monitored on a yearly basis by EU progress reports, and it has been found that work on the chapters covered by the progress reports is inadequate. In this study, work conducted on regional policy in the EU is summarized, work being carried out by countries which are candidates for membership is explained in the form of examples, work conducted in Turkey as part of EU conformity work is discussed, and the effectiveness of work carried out is evaluated in line with the target indicators defined under the EU’s 2020 Strategy.