Abstract
Many people believe that the debate regarding Turkey's adhesion to the European Union (EU) is modern and recent; it actually goes back quite a long time. As a matter of fact, it dates back to the 1960s; the issue was raised in 1963, when Turkey signed a customs union with the E.U. This agreement, mainly economic, mentioned that Turkey would eventually join the EU in the years to come. The same year, the President of the European Commission declared that "Turkey [was] part of Europe" and that "one day, a final step would be made: Turkey would be a full member of the European Commission".
In 1987, Turkey officially asked for its admission ; however, at the time, the Commission considered the admission to be premature because of its economic and political situation. However, the candidacy was not completely rejected.
In 1992, the Copenhagen criteria were defined by the members of the EU. Those criteria have to be respected by a country planning on joining the EU. For example, the criteria demand the existence of a market economy, the respect of Human Rights and democracy. Turkey did not respect the latter condition and its candidacy was rejected again. Finally, in December 1999, the Council declared that Turkey was a country that had a vocation to join the EU, and in 2001, an "admission partnership" was signed. In 2005, the negotiations regarding the membership of Turkey opened. It is possible to notice that this problem was not present with other countries waiting to join the EU: for example, in 2004, ten new countries became members of the EU without referendum or so many questions. Turkey is treated in a different way. The very controversial issue about the possible adhesion of Turkey to the European Union has been for quite a while now the object of many debates between the members of the Union.
