ABSTRACT
Turkey's relations with the European Union date back to the late 1950s, when the Democrat Party government applied for an associate membership in the European Economic Community. The EEC granted this associate membership to Turkey under the Ankara Agreement of September 12, 1963, soon after it had given a similar agreement to Greece in 1961 (Tsakaloyannis, 1980; Eralp, 1993). This agreement included a Financial Protocol that outlined a three-stage strategy for completing a Customs Union (CU) between the EEC and Turkey, and also created an Association Council that would meet on a regular basis to assess the state of this partnership. 1 On November 23, 1970 the two sides signed an Additional Protocol that outlined a timetable for technical measures Turkey needed to meet for establishing the CU within 22 years. However, the Additional Protocol did not enter into force until January 1, 1973 due to a military intervention that took place in Turkey in 1971. Ever since then relations between the two sides have resembled a rollercoaster ride, with a dramatic display of incredible success or near catastrophic failures. Table 2.1 provides the key events of EU–Turkey relations.
