Turkey and Europe: Undivided but not united

Erdogdu, Erkan (2002): Turkey and Europe: Undivided but not united. Published in: Middle East Review of International Affairs , Vol. 6, No. 2 (June 2002): pp. 40-51.

Abstract

This article presents Turkey-Europe relations starting with the 19th century up to the present day with a view to understanding the developments that shaped current EU policies toward Turkey. It also pays special attention to the Turkey-EU Customs Union Decision. After making an overall assessment, the author makes some suggestions concerning Turkey's future relations with the EU. The article concludes that despite strong Turkish desire to join the EU, potentially Turkey is the last country in Europe to expect membership in the EU due to economic, political and, especially, cultural reasons.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Turkey, European Union, Customs Union, EU Enlargement
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F15 - Economic Integration; F - International Economics > F3 - International Finance > F36 - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration

References

1. William Hale, Turkish Foreign Policy 1774-2000 (Frank Cass Publishers, London, 2000), p.38.

2. Meltem Muftuler-Bac, "Through the Looking Glass: Turkey in Europe", Turkish Studies (Vol.1, No.1, Spring 2000), p.26.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid., p.27.

5. Cigdem Nas, "Turkish Identity and the Perception of Europe", Marmara Journal of European Studies (Vol.9, No.1, 2001), p.184.

6. John Redmond, The Next Mediterranean Enlargement of the European Community: Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta? (Aldershot, Hants, England; Brookfield, Vt., USA: Dartmouth, 1993), p.21.

7. This neutrality policy became less trustworthy after Greece�s accession to the EC in 1981. Though it was a condition of accession that Greece would not prevent the improvement of the relations between EC and Turkey, once Greece obtained membership, she did.

8. Redmond, op.cit., in note 6, p.25.

9. The 1963 Agreement was less generous than that with Greece thanks to France and Italy�s efforts, and Turkey�s lower level economic development compared with that of Greece.

10. Article 28 of the Ankara Agreement states: �As soon as the operation of this Agreement has advanced far enough to justify envisaging full acceptance by Turkey of the obligations arising out of the Treaty establishing the Community, the Contracting Parties shall examine the possibility of the accession of Turkey to the Community.�

11. See the web site of Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, �Relations between Turkey and the European Union�,<http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupa/ad/adab/relations.htm >.

12. Turkey formally requested a five-year freeze in its commitments in 1978.

13. The Commission's Opinion was completed on 18 December 1989 and approved by the Council on 5 February 1990.

14. Sevilay Elgun Kahraman, "Rethinking Turkey-European Union Relations in the Light of Enlargement", Turkish Studies (Vol.1, No.1, Spring 2000), p.5.

15. The Association Council is the highest-ranking organ of the association and is composed of the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and the 15 EU Member States.

16. ECSC products were dealt with separately through a free trade agreement that came into force on 1 August 1996.

17. Atila Eralp, "Turkey and the European Union in the Post-Cold War Era", in Alan Makovsky and Sabri Sayari (eds.), Turkey's New World: Changing Dynamics in Turkish Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Institute For Near East Policy, 2000), p.180.

18. For more details on Turkey�s foreign trade with the EU see "Avrupa Birligi ve Turkiye" (Ankara: Dış Ticaret Mustesarlıgı, Ekim 1999), p.453.

19. Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

20. Bulgaria and Romania.

21. In 1993, at the Copenhagen European Council, the EU designed the membership criteria, which are often referred to as the 'Copenhagen criteria'. As stated in Copenhagen, membership requires that the candidate country has achieved:

* stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

* the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;

* the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.

22. For instance, if Turkey were a member today, 87 deputies, out of 626, would represent her.

23. Muftuler-Bac, op.cit., in note 2, p.29.

24. Muftuler-Bac, op.cit., in note 2, p.21.

25. "The Limits of Europe," Economist (05/19/2001-05/25/2001, Vol. 359 Issue 8222, Special section), p.14.

26. Trade between Turkey and the EU accounts for about 50 percent of Turkey�s foreign trade (see Figure 1).

27. Bruce Kuniholm, "Turkey�s Accession to the European Union: Differences in European and US Attitudes, and Challenges for Turkey", Turkish Studies (Vol.2, No.1, Spring 2001), p.46.