ABSTRACT
Turkey officially applied for association to the European Economic Community in 1959, which entered into force in 1963, and for full membership in the European Community in 1987, which was then, however, deferred in 1989. The discussion about Turkey's possible entrance to the European communities, however, shows that this is not the case, especially when it comes to such test cases. When the former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaign was once asked whether or not Turkey is a part of Europe, he answered that the atlas of the National Geographic magazine would clearly show Turkey in its Asian section. During the turmoil of World War II, Turkey long remained neutral. It only sided with the allied Western powers against Nazi Germany at the very last moment. Finally, in 1999, Turkey was granted European Union (EU) candidate status. The official membership negotiations started in 2004.
