Hungary

The aim of the current study is to elaborate on certain country-specific issues and the retrospective thoughts of those who participated actively in the accession negotiations from the Hungarian side and who recall the process as important and decisive. Thus, reaching the final compromise was the result of hard negotiation and the agreement marked a milestone. Therefore, the author first elaborates on the initial steps, with special attention to the Europe Agreement, the institutions set up by the agreement for the negotiations, and parts of the Agreement that required legislative harmonisation. Then, in the second part of the work, the author elaborates on the actual negotiations that commenced on 31 March 1998 and the Association Partnership, as well as the requirements Hungary had to meet. In the third part, the author elaborates on the legal and economic support that Hungary received before, throughout, and shortly after the accession process. Finally, the author introduces the derogations that were allowed for Hungary under the Accession Treaty.