Abstract
Turkey has been an official candidate at the Helsinki summit of the European Council since December 10, 1999, in order to obtain the membership in the European Union. Negotiations began on October 3, 2005, and are expected to continue for at least several years. During the same time, the debate on the legitimacy of this accession began. Indeed, to be a full-fledged member of the EU, a country has to fulfil many criteria as established by the European Council which are as follows:
-Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for 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 EU;
-The ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.
With regard to the opposition to this entry, it was signalled by the EU that Turkey must remedy all its limitations before starting the negotiations.
Moreover, the EU membership could pose some challenges as well as opportunities in the foreign policy domain, because Europe has to be actively involved in this region, and it will imply that the EU might run a serious risk in involving new political and institutional problems. Moreover, it was also noticed that Turkey might become an additional responsibility.
Nevertheless, Turkey has an undeniable chance in accessingthe European Union, from a geopolitical and a geostrategic standpoint: its central location in Eurasia, its intermediary position between Occidental culture and Middle East, its traditional foreign policy are many advantages that are put forward by European analysts. Turkey is a real oriental guardian for European security.
On both sides, we must consider that if Turkey becomes a European member, this membership will add to the European Union and become a more important power at the regional and world-wide level. Turkey could be a stabilizing factor in this region and increase the role of the European Union.
