The european union's approach to minority rights: A case of Turkish Muslims in Romania

This article which aims to address the problem of minority rights in the context of the European Union, first of all definits the concept of minority and explains difficultly of accepting "minority" as a concept. At the same time, the entire development process is evaluated, from the emergence of minorities to the protection and rights they acquired. Then, the kind of a minority policy the European Union has in the framework of the strategies implemented by the member countries is also explained. Furthermore, this study, including the practices of the European Union member states, seeks for tried to reveal the position of the minorities in the international arena. In a case study of the history of Turkish-Muslims in Romania, especially after a brief history of Romania, the situation of Turkish-Muslims was examined within the political, socio-cultural, religious, and educational framework. The experiences and rights of the Muslim minority in Romania are examined within the framework of minority rights. Particularly, changes in the rights and freedoms of Turks parallel with the regime changes in Romania are revealed in a more comprehensible way. Finally, the current situation of Turkish-Muslims in Romania and how they live in the region is studied in detail. In this study, primary and secondary sources were scanned, descriptive method was discussed and analytical methods were interpreted. In 2007, a master's thesis titled "Turkish-Muslim Minority in Romania, which is on the threshold of the European Union" was put forward in relation to Romania's approach to minority rights. However, unlike that study, here the situation of the Turkish-Muslim minorities in the political development process in Romania (during the period of monarchy, communism and democratization) is examined in detail. In addition, several studies on Romanian Turks are also referenced. Unlike these research papers, here the issue of minority rights and protection of minority rights, and the EU's approach to minority rights are addressed. Furthermore, the way in which an EU-member Eastern European country approached Turkish-Muslim minorities is considered throughout the political development process.