Estonian Regions and the European Union: Between Transformation and Europeanization

Abstract

Estonian public administration has undergone considerable changes since the end of 1980s. On the one hand, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the restoration of Estonia’s independence in 1991, the whole system of public administration has gone through a process of transformation from communism to a free market democracy. In fact, democratic structures were first introduced at the level of the local and regional government and only later at the level of the state. Measured in terms of the scope and number of changes, the period of transformation of public administration has continued well into the mid-1990s. On the other hand, in aiming for EU membership, Estonia has had to adapt its institutions and policies to the requirements of the acquis communautaire. The accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) influenced the development of the Estonian public administration from the beginning of the negotiations in 1997 (Viks 2002).