Turkey EU relations Research Papers (original) (raw)

The paper reviews the most recent developments in Turkey's EU negotiation process to argue that with a vanishing membership prospect the EU has no more leverage on Turkey's democratization.

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- Turkey EU relations

The Center for Turkish Studies at Kadir Has University announced the 2018 results of its annual “Public Perceptions on Turkish Foreign Policy” survey. The survey, which was conducted using face-to-face interviews with a sample of a thousand adult participants representing Turkey’s population structure in 26 provinces, included questions about Turkey’s bilateral relations with Syria, Israel, Russia, the United States and the European Union, and developments that shaped Turkish foreign policy.

- by Cihan Dizdaroğlu and +1
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- Public Opinion, NATO, Foreign Policy, Turkish and Middle East Studies
- by Joe Hammoura
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- Social Sciences, Refugee Studies, Migration, Turkish and Middle East Studies

Turkey’s different recent moves in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is argued, aim to disrupt the game plans of other countries. Backed by military instruments, Turkey has confronted regional adversaries, including some of its NATO allies. It has undertaken naval exercises or deployed its navy to support its seismic surveys and has thwarted other players’ drilling efforts, hence blocking the monetization of the area’s natural resources, not to mention its military involvement in the Libya conflict. There is a tendency to view such actions as erratic moves aimed at disrupting the game plans of others which can hardly be explained by strategic considerations. Disruption is definitely part of Turkey’s regional conduct, but it would be misleading to downplay it as aimless. Such moves can be best conceptualized as part of coercive diplomacy, which is based on the threat of punishment or threat of denial to achieve desired objectives.

- by Deniz SERVANTIE
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- Science Policy, Turkey EU relations
- by Deniz SERVANTIE
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- Road Transport, Transportation, Turkey EU relations

This publication was produced as part of the CATS Network Project, titled Turkey as a Partner and Challenge for European Security”. The project is being conducted by a consortium of the International Relations Council of Turkey (IRCT), the Center for International and European Studies (CIES) at Kadir Has University, and the Institute of International Relations (IRR) at Panteion University.

- by Mustafa Aydin and +1
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- Foreign Policy Analysis, Turkey And Europe, Turkish Foreign Policy, European Foreign and Security Policy
- by Ebru Turhan
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- Qualitative methodology, Constructivism, Turkey, Media Framing

ÖZET AB'ye üye olmak isteyen ülkelerin AB kurallarını kabul etmesi ve müktesebata uyum sağlamaları beklenmektedir. Söz konusu AB uyum politikaları ve aday ülkelerin Avrupalılaşması sürecinde bazı etki mekanizmaları ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu etki mekanizmalarının başında ise " Koşulluluk Prensibi " (conditionality) yer almaktadır. Koşulluluk prensibi AB'nin dönüştürücü gücünün önemli bir unsuru olsa da eksiklikleri, zamanla etkisinin zayıflamasına neden olmuştur. Bu makalede, Avrupa Birliği (AB) koşulluluğunun bir aday ülke olan Türkiye'de kamu yönetimi reform sürecine olan etkisi incelenmektedir. Makalenin temel amacı, AB'nin koşulluluk prensibinin, aday ülkelerin iç politikaları üzerindeki etkisini Türkiye'deki 2002 yılı sonrası kamu yönetimi reformları üzerinden incelemektir. Makalenin temel argümanı, koşulluluk prensibinin etki alanının resmi adaylık statüsünün verilmesinin ardından 2002-2005 yılları arasında arttığı ve müzakerelerin başladığı 2005 sonrası dönemde ise çeşitli nedenlerle kazanılmış olan ivmenin azaldığıdır. AB'nin dönüştürücü etkisinin en çok adaylık döneminde görüldüğü ile başlarsak, AB'nin " sopa-havuç " stratejisi ile işlettiği koşulluluk prensibinin bir aday ülke olarak Türkiye'de çeşitli evreler geçirdiğini, Türkiye'nin adaylığının ilan edildiği 1999 Helsinki Zirvesi sonrasında görünürlük kazandığını söyleyebiliriz. Bu süreç 2002-2005 yılları arasında hızlanmış ve Türkiye'de kamu yönetimi alanında radikal adımlar atılmış ve çeşitli yönetsel reformlara imza atılmıştır. 2005 yılı sonrası reformların hız kaybettiği ve hatta durma noktasına geldiği eleştirileri yapılmış ve bu yavaşlama çeşitli sebeplere bağlanmıştır. Bu bağlamda çalışmamızda, koşulluluk prensibinin arka planı, ne anlam ifade ettiği ile başlanarak, 2002 sonrası kamu yönetimi reformları ve bu reformların ilerleme raporları çerçevesinde değerlendirmesi yapılacak ve 2002-2005 arası reform çalışmalarında kazanılan ivmenin ve 2005 sonrası bu ilerlemenin neden durduğunun sebepleri çeşitli iç ve dış faktörlerle açıklanacaktır.

Since the beginning of the Arab uprisings in 2011 and as a result of growing instability in the region, migration transit through Turkey has become an increasingly pressing issue in Europe. The transit of migrants placed Turkey in a buffer position between the Middle East and Europe, and it soon assumed the role of guardian of the Schengen area, “protecting” it from irregular migration. This, combined with the exponential growth of irregular migration flows – soon dubbed the “migrant crisis” – resulted in migration management becoming a key to the ostensible rapprochement between Turkey and the EU. However, as a result of many paradoxes, migration can also hamper Turkey-EU relations, as is already becoming obvious as relations took a turn for the worse since the summer of 2016. - See more at: http://www.iai.it/en/pubblicazioni/migration-paradox-and-eu-turkey-relations#sthash.Y9nkvPDz.dpuf

This report examines the border management and migration control regime in Turkey, analysing its main legal and policy framework as well as the organisations and actors involved in policy implementation. Drawing from the empirical material, the report focuses on pre-entry measures, “at the border” controls, controls within the national territory, and return policy fields. The report aims to understand to what extent, and how, Turkey’s border management and migration control measures have changed from 2011 to 2017, how the changes have influenced policy implementations, and what the main gaps are between the legal frameworks and actual practices. The report also focuses on how relevant (state, non-state and national, local international and supranational) actors interact in implementing measures and what the patterns of cooperation and tensions are among them.

- by Nefise Ela Gokalp Aras and +1
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- Border Studies, Migration Studies, Turkey EU relations

This thesis seeks to determine the European Union Readmission Agreements within its scope of application and its legal basis. The first aim on the thesis focuses on the outlines of the Readmission Agreements concluded by the European Union targeting third countries to combat with irregular migration. Secondly, the division of the use of powers and along with their responsibilities arisen by the European Union and its Member States are analysed. Thirdly, the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation is scrutinized in relation with its clauses and provisions. And followingly, the deficiencies on the implementation and application of the Readmission Agreement are reviewed in conjunction with human rights and asylum law.

- by Ayşegül Ün
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- International Relations, Human Rights Law, International Law, Human Rights

Attracting international investors while repelling undesirable migrants: since the Great Recession of 2009, these two preoccupations have dominated the European agenda. Given the havoc wrought by austerity programs and the ongoing ordeal of asylum seekers, what possibilities does the near future hold, for the European Union and for the left's ability to challenge its current priorities?

- by Milad Odabaei and +2
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- Social Movements, European Studies, European integration, Economic Policy Evaluation

Migration was a critical policy area for Turkey even before Turkey became an official candidate country to the EU in 1999. Especially, with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s Turkey began to face the challenges of being a country of origin and destination, while acting as a transit country for documented and undocumented migration. Although the foundations of a migration policy were shaped in Turkey prior to the EU accession process, the EU accession process had an important catalyser effect in transforming the migration and asylum policies. This paper presents an overall analysis of the changes experienced in Turkey since 1999 on the asylum field with a projection of three possible scenarios of convergence, cooperation and conflict on Turkey-EU relationship. In that respect, this paper aims to map out the important periods that have influenced the transformation of the asylum policy in Turkey. It also looks at the changes brought to the policy structures both in Turkey and the EU with the Syrian refugee protection crisis, EU-Turkey Deal and limitations on EU's accession conditionality. While locating the important events and drivers at the global, neighbourhood, EU and Turkish levels, this research based on extensive fieldwork interviews presents findings of a EU-Turkey relationship that lies between cooperation and conflict.

- by Basak Kale and +3
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- European integration, Refugee Studies, Asylum Law, European Union
- by Ugur C Özgöker
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- European Studies, European integration, European Foreign Policy, European Union

This open access book explores the new complexities and ambiguities that epitomize EU-Turkey relations. With a strong focus on the developments in the last decade, the book provides full access to a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted relationship through three entry points: (1) Theories and Concepts, (2) Institutions, and (3) Policies. Part I brings together complementary and competing analytical approaches to study the evolution of EU-Turkey relations, ranging from traditional integration theories to novel concepts. Part II investigates the institutional machinery of EU-Turkey relations by analyzing the roles and perspectives of the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament. Part III offers analyses of the policies most relevant for the relationship: enlargement policy, trade and macroeconomic policies, foreign and security policy, migration and asylum policies, and energy policy. In Part IV, the volume closes with a systematic survey of the conditions under which cooperative trends in EU-Turkey relations could be (re)invigorated. The systematic setup and the balanced combination of distinguished experts from EU- and Turkey-based institutions make this book a fundamental reading for students, researchers, lecturers, and practitioners of EU-Turkey relations, European integration and Turkish foreign policy.

- by Ebru Turhan
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- European Studies, European integration, Foreign Policy Analysis, Refugee Studies
- by Deniz SERVANTIE
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- Air Transport, Turkey EU relations
- by Melis AKCAN
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- Energy, Energy Security, European Union, Regional Security Complex Theory
- by Eliz Şahin
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- Turkey And Europe, Cyprus conflict, Turkey EU relations, EU Enlargement
- by Tugce Kelleci and +1
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- European Security and Defence Policy, European Union, Turkey, Turkey And Europe
- by Deniz SERVANTIE
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- Turkey EU relations, Inland Waterway Transportation

Uluslararası Stratejik Araştırmalar Kurumu • Avrupa Analizleri Serisi No: 1 • Analiz No: 29 • Ekim 2015

- by Öznur Akcalı Yılmaz
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- Migration, Turkey And Europe, Turkey EU relations, Syrian Refugee Crisis

The massive inflow of migrants into the Europe that started in mid-2015 confronted the EU and its member states with huge challenges. The most important measures which were taken on the multiple levels are presented and analysed in this... more

2000’li yılların başında hidrokarbon rezervlerinin keşfedilmesi ile Doğu Akdeniz hem bölgesel hem de küresel güçlerin ilgi odağı haline gelmiştir. Petrol ve gaz kaynaklarının işletilmesi için bazı bölge ülkeleri deniz yetki alanları sınırlandırma anlaşmaları imzalamıştır ancak Doğu Akdeniz’in coğrafi olarak dar bir deniz olması nedeniyle tarafların çakışan deniz yetki alanları sorunlara sebep olmuştur. Özellikle GKRY ve Yunanistan’ın Doğu Akdeniz’deki deniz alanlarını uluslararası hukuka aykırı bir şekilde sahiplenme ve Türkiye ile KKTC’yi kendi karasularına hapsetme politikası bölgeyi adeta bir rekabet alanı haline getirmiştir. Bu bağlamda çalışma hidrokarbon rezervlerinin keşfi ile gündeme gelen Doğu Akdeniz’deki deniz yetki alanlarının sınırlandırılması hususunda Türkiye-KKTC ve Yunanistan-GKRY arasından yaşanan anlaşmazlığı değerlendirmektedir. Ayrıca Türkiye’nin bu sorun çerçevesinde şekillenen Doğu Akdeniz politikasını ve AB üyesi iki ülke ile Türkiye arasında yaşanan deniz yetki alanları sorununa Birliğin yaklaşımını tartışmaktadır.

- by Esengül Ayaz
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- Cyprus conflict, Turkish Foreign Policy, Turkey EU relations
- by Deniz SERVANTIE
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- Railway Transport, Turkey EU relations

The article discusses the first case law issued on the EU-Turkey deal that authoritatively answers the question whether Turkey constitutes a safe third country for refugees. In 390 out of 393 decisions Greek Asylum Appeals Committees ruled that the safe third country requirements are not fulfilled with respect to Turkey, essentially impeding the application of the EU-Turkey deal. The purpose of this article is, on the first level, through empirical research, to shed light on the reasoning of the decisions of the Appeals Committees and investigate the impact of the EU-Turkey agreement upon them. On a second level, it focuses on evaluating from the perspective of effective legal protection the legislative amendment, subsequent to these decisions, which modifies their composition. The analysis is of significant societal relevance, as it aspires to inform further law, policy, and jurisprudence in the field, especially since it provides access to sources that due to language and other practical barriers would remain far from the reach of legal and policy experts.

- by Mariana Gkliati
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- Refugee Studies, Immigration, Immigration Studies, Asylum Law

On July 15th,2016 the coup attempt that was started by some rebellious soldiers of the Turkish Armed Forces resulted in failure. The state of emergency that was announced after the failed coup attempt led to widescale purges and arrests. Due to rising doubts over a fair trial the reputation of Turkey regarding human rights and democracy was damaged. On April 16th, 2017, Turkey passed an executive presidential system and destroyed the principle of the separation of power.In this context, the European Parliament‟s decision to freeze accession talks with Turkey carried on relations between the EU and Turkey the agenda again. In this study, relations between the EU and Turkey will be explored with recent problems and considerations of internal and external factors including an analysis of barriers in front of the EU integration of Turkey.

- by Zekeriya Alperen Bedirhan and +1
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- European Union, Turkey, Turkish Foreign Policy, Enlargement and Integration in the EU

How should the EU react to the political developments in Turkey after the 2016 coup attempt? Should the member states continue to engage in dialogue or, by suspending the accession negotiations, demonstrate that they refuse to accept significant deductions from the EU’s political standards from a candidate country? In addition, the EU-critical rhetoric from Ankara casts doubt on whether the political leadership is still interested in a partnership relationship with the EU. Based on a description of the deterioration of relationships, I discuss the disadvantages of further alienation for both sides. I argue that, despite the political tensions, there is no alternative to the continuation of the dialogue, which would better serve the economic and security interests of both sides.

- by Alexander Bürgin
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- European Union, Turkey And Europe, Europeanization, European Union Politics

1990’ların başından itibaren,Türkiye-AB ilişkilerinin içeriği,ekonomiden siyasete doğru evrilmeye doğru bir değişim göstermektedir.Bu durumu yansıtan gelişmeler,Avrupa’daki politik değişikliklerle doğru orantılıdır.Ekim 1990’da Doğu ve Batı Almanya birleşmiş,Aralık 1991’de Sovyetler Birliği dağılmış ve Bağımsız Devletler Topluluğu kurulmuştur.1991 yılının sonunda Maastricht Antlaşması imzalanmış ve AT üyesi devletler,Avrupa Birliği’ni kurmuşlardır.Antlaşma,Avrupa Topluluğu teriminin yerine Avrupa Birliği teriminin gelmesini sağlamıştır.Böylece,Avrupa Birliği’ni ekonomik perspektiften siyasi perspektife sürükleyecek dönem başlamıştır.Bu perspektifi yansıtmak amacıyla,Ortak ve Dış Güvenlik Politikası,birliğin temel politikası haline gelmiştir.Bu durum,Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği(SSCB)’nin yıkılmasyla birlikte ortaya çıkan bir sonuçtur.

- by Emre Erdemir
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- European Union, Turkey EU relations, Eu Candidate Countries, Customs Union

Undermining the foundational pillars of the post–Cold War security order, Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is a watershed event for Europe and the wider world, Turkey included. While Ankara is trying to protect its economy and security interests, anti-Western narratives dominate the public debate. The war has indeed accentuated anti-Westernism as one of the main fault lines of political competition. Given the geopolitical imperatives that February 24 brought to the fore, it is highly likely that, in the short-term, Turkey’s NATO membership and its Association Agreement with the EU will – geopolitically and economically – continue to anchor it to the West. Whether or not a full strategic alignment with the EU will accompany such an anchoring is far from certain, however, mainly due to Turkey’s domestic political dynamics, but also due to the unclarity about how far the EU is willing to move beyond a transactional approach.

- by Sinem Adar
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- Turkey EU relations, Turkey's Foreign Policy, Russian war in Ukraine

The objective of this thesis is to examine the impact of the changing political
discourses of Turkey’s identity vis a vis the EU during the AKP (Justice and
Development Party / Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) term on relations with the European
Union. To this end, the study focuses mainly on the discursive formulation of Turkey’s
role in a context of “otherness” as a Muslim and Middle Eastern country under the rule
of the AKP governments, Turkey’s major pro-Islamic party which first came to power
in 2002. It is argued that “The ‘otherness’ of Turkey could be an advantage rather than
an impediment in Turkey-EU relations if Turkey would be able to combine it with the
European norms and values.” In order to substantiate this argument, the present thesis
tries to understand the perceptions of Turkey’s “otherness” of both parties, i.e., Turkey
and the EU, and its transformation during the AKP rule from 2002 to 2014. On the
basis of the discourse analysis of the AKP’s political leadership and the regular
progress report on Turkey released by the European Commission, this study
distinguishes two contradictory periods: first, a compromise on “the otherness” of
Turkey between 2002 and 2005 and second, its dissolution between 2010 and 2014.
Between these two diverse periods which contain opposite discourses, from 2005 and
2010, it is found that the compromise was neither ruptured nor progressed.

- by Öznur Akcalı Yılmaz
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- Identity (Culture), Foreign Policy, European Union, Turkey

This policy brief documents what happens with people after readmission to Turkey. Deported non-Syrians are unable to apply for asylum from within Turkish detention centres, as well as regularly forced to sign return papers. Readmitted Syrians are without effective protection and have in several cases felt obliged to return to Syria. The brief also offers a synthesis of how the failed Turkish coup d'état further undermined already weak protection mechanism for asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey.

- by Maybritt Jill Alpes and +2
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- Asylum seekers, Refugees, Turkey EU relations, Deportation

Giriş Türkiye'nin Avrupa Birliği ile olan ilişkisi (AET / AT ve şimdi AB) 1959'da diğer pek çok AB üyesi veya adayı ülkeye kıyasla çok erken bir tarihte başladı. Bu kadar erken başlamış olmasına rağmen bu ilişkinin sonucu halen pek de öngörülebiliri değil. Bu uzun ilişki, belki de bu kadar uzamasının nedeni, pek çok yanlış algı, yanlış anlama, önyargı, hayal kırıklığı ve mantıksızlığın neden olduğu karşılıklı bir güvensizlik atmosferinde süregelmiştir. Karşılıklı menfaatler nedeni ile de bir türlü sonuç alınamamasına rağmen halen devam etmektedir. Türkiye'nin Soğuk Savaş döneminde ve sonrasında Batı ile yakın işbirliği, sadece güvenlik ve ekonomik politika hedeflerine hizmet etmek için değil aynı zamanda 200 yıl önce başlatılan Batılılaşma sürecinin vazgeçilmez bir parçasıydı. Bu sürecin, Türkiye'nin Batı Medeniyetiyle olan bağlarını güçlendirmekle kalmayıp, aynı zamanda ülkenin ekonomik ve teknolojik performansını iyileştirmesi ve demokratik eksikliklerini de sona erdirmesi bekleniyordu. Bugün bile, bu sürecin sonuna kadar getirilmesi, Türk iç ve dış politikasının temel ve geri alınamaz hedefi olmaya devam etmektedir. Güvenlik açısından soğuk savaş döneminde Türkiye, Avrupa'nın parçası olarak, Sovyet yayılmacılığına karşı çok önemli bir rol oynamıştır. Ayrıca, Türkiye 1945'ten beri OECD, Avrupa Konseyi ve NATO gibi Avrupa'nın kurumlarında resmen temsil edilmektedir; ancak Brüksel ve Ankara arasındaki ilişkilerde Türkiye'nin "Avrupalılığı" hala bir tartışma konusu yapılabilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye ve AB arasındaki bu uzun ilişkiyi bazı kırılma noktalarına dayandırarak anlatmaya çalışmaktır. AB-Türkiye ilişkisi bu çalışmada çok daha uzun dönemli Türkiye'nin batılılaşma sürecinin önemli bir parçası olarak kabul edilecektir ve değerlendirmeler bu anlayış çerçevesinde gerçekleştirilecektir. Bu çerçeveden bakıldığında ilk başvuru ve Ankara Anlaşmasının imzalanması ve anlaşmaya Katma Protokolün eklenmesi ilişkilerin ilk ve en uzun dönemini oluşturmaktadır. Türkiye ve dünya siyasetinde önemli dönüşümlerin yaşandığı 80'li yıllarda Türkiye'nin yaptığı doğrudan üyelik başvurusu çalışmanın ikinci bölümünü oluşturacak; bu başvurunun reddi üzerine hızla tamamlanan Gümrük Birliği ise çalışmanın üçüncü bölümünü oluşturacaktır. Türkiye'nin AB üyeliğine resmen aday ülke ilan edilmemesi ve bunu takiben donan AB-Türkiye ilişkileri, bu kararın alındığı Lüksemburg Zirvesi başlığı altında çalışmanın dördüncü bölümünü oluşturacaktır. İlişkilerin yumuşadığı ve Türkiye-AB ilişkilerinde daha sıcak yeni bir dönemin açılmasına yol açan Helsinki Zirvesi ve Türkiye'ye aday ülke statüsünün verilmesi beşinci bölümde tartışılacaktır. Çalışmanın altıncı bölümünde ise Türkiye ile AB arasında üyelik müzakerelerinin hangi şartlarda başladığı değerlendirilecektir. Son bölümde ise müzakerelerin başlaması ile farklı bir boyut kazanması beklenen AB-Türkiye ilişkileri yazının hazırlandığı tarihe kadar gerçekleşen önemli olaylar ışığında anlatılmaya çalışılacaktır.

- by Hakan Cavlak
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- Turkey And Europe, Turkey EU relations
- by Nagehan Güder
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- Human Rights, Transnationalism, Africa, Irregular Migration
- by Senem Aydın-Düzgit and +1
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- Migration, International Migration, Turkey And Europe, Migration Studies

The EU neighbourhood is undergoing deep transformations and this raises debate on how best to establish trade relations with neighbouring partners, like Turkey and the Eastern Partnership countries (such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia). Moreover, Brexit will entail the reorganisation of EU-UK relations, which will shake up cross-border trade flows. The EU can negotiate two basic types of trade agreement granting preferential market access to partners' goods: free trade agreements (FTAs) and customs unions (CUs). CUs represent a higher level of integration, as the parties decide to harmonise their external trade barriers with the rest of the world. As FTAs do not maintain a single external border, they may result in trade deflection, whereby third countries can 'free ride' on FTA concessions by entering via the least restrictive border. For this reason, FTAs need to discriminate between goods originating in an FTA member and goods from third countries, through the introduction of costly preferential rules of origin (PRoO). Notwithstanding the cost of PRoO, FTAs have been the main type of trade agreements used, while the smaller number of CUs is due to the higher negotiation costs involved. CUs have therefore mainly been considered as a first step towards deeper regional integration. This is why there are ongoing political debates on customs unions in three different contexts: the assessment of the EU-Turkey CU, a CU as a further step in EU-Ukraine trade relations and the issue of the UK's exit from the EU CU as a result of Brexit.

- by Laura Puccio and +2
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- International Trade, European Neighbourhood Policy, European Union, International trade law

The end of the Cold War and the European Union's (EU) decision to enlarge to countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) while leaving Turkey out of the new enlargement queue sparked a rising academic interest particularly in the role of identity in EU-Turkey relations in the late 1990s. As Turkey's accession process progressed between 1999 and 2005, debates on the desirability of Turkish accession intensified in the EU. As the prospect of accession became more real, the opposition also began to be increasingly based on the grounds that the country posed a profound challenge to the European project due to the perceived ambiguities over Turkey's 'Europeanness'. It was explicitly and increasingly voiced, most prominently by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among others,