Formative Years: A Key for Understanding Turkey’s Membership Policy towards the EU

Abstract

This article attempts to evaluate the formative years of Turkey's relationswith the European Economic Community EEC . This period began with Turkey'sapplication to the community in 1959 for an association agreement, and lasted untilthe end of the approval process of the Ankara Agreement AA by nationalgovernments in 1964. In the first five years, negotiations for the jAA weresuccessfully concluded in line with Turkey's conventional orientation in foreignaffairs. It was indeed a successful agreement, because Ankara was able to persuadeBrussels to consider Turkey's eventual membership of the Community, and to signan agreement documenting it. In addition, this article also aims to identify theessential driving forces behind Turkey's original approach on European integration, through analysing internal and external factors, which were supposed to beimportant during the formative years. It should be noted here that Turkey's EECpolicy in this period is still of indisputable importance in understanding the relationship between Turkey and the EU today