Romania's Accession to the EU and the EU Children's Rights Agenda: Policy Entrepreneurship and Feedback Effects

Abstract

Policy entrepreneurs and feedback effects can shape the European Union's (EU's) human rights agenda. This article examines the role of policy entrepreneurs and policy feedback in relation to EU intervention in children's rights in Romania and the impact of this intervention on the EU itself. The children's rights accession conditionality as applied on Romania amounted to an interventionist policy, which radically overhauled the Romanian children's rights provisions. The Romanian children's case, however, provided EU policy entrepreneurs with a window of opportunity to introduce children's rights as an EU internal policy, while, in the context of EU enlargement, positive feedback effects have entrenched the protection of children's rights as an EU accession condition. It is shown that the children's rights conditionality applied on Romania before 2007 has impacted upon the EU's approach to children's rights by forging the development of institutional structures and policy mechanisms at the Commission level to promote children's rights in the EU's internal and external policy dimensions.

Key WOrds::

• accession conditionality
• children's rights
• Eastern enlargement
• feedback effects
• policy entrepreneurs

Notes

  ¹ The findings of this article are based on an extensive set of qualitative interviews conducted with EU officials in the European Commission (DG Enlargement, DG External Relations, DG Justice, Freedom and Security, and DG Social Affairs, Employment and Equal Opportunities), members of the European Parliament and Romanian officials between 2008 and 2011. All interviewees, with some exceptions, approved being cited anonymously and are, therefore, not named.

  ² Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, May 2009, Brussels.

  ³ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, May 2009, Brussels.

  ⁴ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, May 2009, Brussels.

  ⁵ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, September 2010, Brussels.

  ⁶ Author's interview with members of the Independent Panel of Experts on Family Law, December 2008, Brussels.

  ⁷ The Commission spent 100 million euros during 1990–2000 in EU aid for child protection, while during 2000–06, there was an annual assistance of 650 million euros on the completion of a National Strategy for the Mid-Term Development of Romania, which included the reform of child protection (Jacoby et al.2009, pp. 120–122).

  ⁸ According to the author's interviews with Commission officials in the DG ELARG involved in the Romanian children's case, May 2009, July 2011, Brussels.

  ⁹ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, September 2009, Brussels.

¹⁰ Author's interview with Baroness Emma Nicholson, EP rapporteur for Romania, May 2009, Brussels.

¹¹ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG EMPL, September 2009, Brussels.

¹² Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, July 2011, Brussels.

¹³ Author's interview with a Commission official in the DG ELARG, September 2009, Brussels.