AND THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS OF TURKEY
KÂMİL TÜĞEN
Prof. Dr., Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Department of Public Finance, Turkey
AYŞE ATİLGAN YAŞA
Res.Asst., Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
Department of Public Finance, Turkey
Local governments, in which the municipalities play a crucial role, have been considered as the cradle of democracy. Throughout the European Union countries, the establishment of democratic and participatory municipalities is a primary aim; and Turkey as a country in its accession process to the EU has also been challenged towards a regionalized model. The importance of the municipalities has been increasing within the governance of EU countries. In these countries, local authorities, particularly municipalities, have been seen as places of local partisan interest mediation; and the citizens are motivated in order to consider the local problems and the resolution processes. Whereas the legal regulations secure the rights of the par-ticipation of local people, and the local community is promoted to this end, the municipalities also benefit from the new regulations imposed so as to increase the functions of local authorities in terms of financial management. Since Turkey has been admitted as a candidate country in 1999 and the negotiations with the EU have started in 2005, significant changes regarding the municipalities have taken place in order to fulfill the conditions. In the EU Progress Reports, Turkey is evaluated in terms of whether it meets the requirements of the chapters or not, and these reports indicate what is to be done by the country to meet these conditions. The aim of this study is to examine the regional governance of Turkey and to identify the adjustments conducive to the financial management of municipalities during the EU accession process of Turkey.
