Political Criteria

In line with the Conclusions of the Copenhagen Summit in 1993, essential conditions to become a member to the Union were defined. These conditions are “political criteria”, “economic criteria” and “administrative and institutional capacity to effectively implement the acquis”. Political criteria are also a prerequisite for a candidate country to start the accession negotiations.

Political criteria can be defined as stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.This broad definition gains a concrete meaning with the international conventions such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court on Human Rights. Besides, the documents of international organizations such as United Nations and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are also important to determine the standards and norms of political criteria.