Filozofija i drustvo 2010 Volume 21, Issue 2, Pages: 145-166
https://doi.org/10.2298/FID1002145S
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European standards of minority protections - from conditionality to limitation: Case of Croatia
Stanković-Pejnović Vesna
EU promotes norms which lack a basis in EU law and do not directly translate
into the acquis communautaire EU. Limits of EU conditionality in the area of
minority rights are visible in closer look at the EU’s monitoring mechanism,
including Regular Reports, which locate EU’s minority criterion in the
domestic political context. Reports have structure broadly follows the
Copenhagen criteria. Serious efforts are needed for achieving practical
results flowing from the implementation of the legislative framework
pertaining to minority issues. The same factors also affected the mechanisms’
ability to influence that implementation. These factors concern the
following: confusion regarding the juridical nature of the minority rights
instruments, the vagueness or flexibility in the formulation of the
standards, and unclarity as to the beneficiaries of the standards. Issue of
soft instruments, vague norms and the lack of a definition of the
beneficiaries of the norms will continue to trouble the minds of Governments,
minorities, international mechanisms. EU must undertaking efforts to sharpen
and further clarify the existing standards and to persuade Governments that
existence of minority groups can enrich a society as a whole and that
measures to preserve their specific characteristics will reduce the risks of
violent conflicts. The case of Croatia, through Regular Reports, shows
acceptation of European standards of minority protection in legal area, but
with the limits in their implementation. In these circumstances Regular
Reports describes attitude of EU toward minority issue; it is not priority of
EU in accession process, difficulties in monitoring the implementation of
minority issues and lack of precise definition norms in minority rights area.
Keywords: liberal multiculturalism, minority rights, EU