TURKEY IN THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS: FROM LUXEMBOURG TO HELSINKI

Abstract

Turkey’s application to the European Community in April 1987 for full membership and the response of the Community triggered a reassessment of Turkey’s Europeanness both in Europe and Turkey and resulted in the rise of anti-European feelings in Turkey.1 The changes in the post-Cold War climate and the decisions of the Luxembourg Summit of the Union reinforced this tendency. In this climate, the issue of Turkey’s full membership became a contentious one in the present enlargement process of the Union. This paper argues, however, that this problematic situation was neither to the advantage of the European Union nor to Turkey. It examines the factors that pressurised the European Union and Turkey to overcome the problematic relationship between them. The paper concludes by examining the decisions of the Helsinki Summit of the Union and discussing the prospects of a new relationship between the EU and Turkey. It shows how the Helsinki Summit provided a turning point in Turkey’s relationship with the EU in establishing a better working relationship