Publication

EU treaties contain the safe guard of human rights and the respect for minorities as values which need to be respected and applied under Community Action. At the same time, nearly all EU member states are bound by additional transnational regulations on human and minority rights, such as those developed by the Council of Europe. This level of transnational human rights is gradually also becoming embodied into EU structures. By taking account of some developments under each process and their interaction, this paper aims to identify how Europeanization and transnational forces can help to construct and sustain a policy field, namely a national minority policy.