Turkey And Eu Relation

The beginning of official relations between the European Union and Turkey dates back to 31 July 1959, when Turkey applied for association following the establishment of the European Economic Community by six countries. The EEC Council of Ministers accepted the application, and after the negotiations that followed the Ankara Agreement creating an association between the European Economic Community and Turkey. The aim of this Agreement was to promote the continuous and balanced strengthening of trade and economic relations between the Parties, while taking full account of the need to ensure an accelerated development of the Turkish economy and to improve the level of employment and the living conditions of the Turkish people. With the Ankara Agreement, an Association Council, that met periodically and discussed matters involving the partnership, was formed. This institutional framework was widened with implementation of the last phase of the Customs Union.

With the signing of the Additional Protocol, Turkey has accepted abolishing customs duties on the EU's industrial exports and adopting the common external tariff of the EC that is applied to third countries. According to this a transition period of 12 years for lifting tariffs on industrial goods and a 22-year-long tariff removal calendar for weak industrial sectors were foreseen.

However, Turkey did not fulfil its responsibilities during the transition period, and tariff removal has halted between 1978 and 1988. The relations that were frozen after the 1980 military coup were given new acceleration with Turkey's application for full membership on 14 April 1987. The Commission, in its reply in 1989, stated that they will not be able to accept a new member until it has completed its internal market harmonization period; and completion of the Customs Union was recommended as a first step.

EU-Turkey relations gained a new dimension in 1993 with start of Customs Union negotiations. After two years of negotiations, the Customs Union between Turkey and the EU took effect on 1 January 1996 with Association Council decision number 1/95. In the second Regular Report on Turkey which was published by the EU Commission on 13 October 1999, giving Turkey a membership perspective was recommended, and consequently at the Helsinki Summit which met in December 1999, Turkey was given the status of candidate country for EU membership.

The Accession Partnership, which was officially adopted by the EU Council on 8 March 2001, is a road map for Turkey for determining the priorities for the progress that needs to be undertaken towards meeting the EU's accession criteria. On 17 December 2004, the European Council decided to open accession talks with Turkey as of 3 October 2005.

Notable individuals who oppose Turkish membership: In Belgium, Willy Claes he was minister of economic affairs of Belgium three separate times and Karel van Miert he became adjunct-national secretary of the Ð'- at that time Ð'- unitary Belgian socialist party, both socialist ex-ministers, one a former NATO-secretary and the other a former European Commissioner, are strongly opposed to Turkish accession.

1. Political criteria: The candidate country must have a sustainable institutional structure