ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relations between the EU and Turkey after the refugee crisis that began in Syria in 2011 and reached Europe in 2014. Rather than being a refugee or migration study, the research presented here shows how the statement of reconciliation of March 18, 2016, affected these relations. An important thesis underlying this study is that the refugee crisis is actually a new version of the “security strategy” dimension of EU–Turkey relations that has existed since the very beginning. Although these relations were conducted on a foundation dominated by security-strategy considerations from the outset, it was thought that a new phase of integration had been reached, especially during the period 1999 through 2007. However, the negotiations regarding Turkey’s accession to the EU, which were largely blocked in 2007, faced both a new test and new opportunities in 2014. Quite evident is the divergence between Turkey’s effort to become an integral part of Europe and the EU’s generally distant and instrumental approach to the issue. While Turkey cannot respond to the expectations set by the EU, the EU seems to have transformed its relationship with Turkey into one of “strategic relations” with a “close neighbor,” especially after 2016.
