Turkey's EU Accession Process in the Context of the Principles of the European Administrative Space

This paper analyzes the transformation in Turkish administrative structures in the context of the concepts and principles that constitutes the content of the European Administrative Space (EAS). The EAS is a structure built on shared principles of public administration in the European Union. Basic approaches and principles for public administration shared by the EU member countries constitute the foundation of enlargement negotiations with candidate members in the process of transition from a 15-member EU to 27-member EU. Adaptation to the acquis communitaire, a precondition for EU membership, requires comprehensive public administration reforms consistent with the EAS principles. This paper argues that public administration in Europe has been restructured under the principles of transparency, efficiency, participation and accountability, and that these principles have affected Turkish public administration reform conducted in Turkey's EU accession process.