Turkey and the European Union : other complementary options?

Is Turkey’s perception of membership in the European Union (EU) as an ‘ultimate goal’ justified? Are there complementary options supporting Turkey’s membership in the Union? These questions are the focus of the present thesis. In order to find an answer to these questions, the present thesis displays the shift in EU policies toward Turkey from 1997 to 1999 and its reasons. Furthermore it proceeds to display the criteria Turkey has to fulfill before accession negotiations can be opened. In particular, the work examines to what extent Turkey already meets the political Copenhagen criteria and, therefore, what kind of a reform process needs to be launched in order to fulfill the requirements not yet met. While investigating complementary possibilities for cooperation, first Turkey’s chances for cooperation with its Middle Eastern neighbors, as well as with Israel and the Turkic Republics are taken up. The thesis will also examine, whether Turkey’s membership in the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation could be supportive of its prospective accession to the EU The work concludes that although the way to accession to the EU will be rocky for Turkey, its actual membership is desirable. Turkey has to strive for membership in the EU if it wants to strengthen its position within the international system of states on the one hand and consolidate its democracy and economy on the other. Turkey’s membership in the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation could be complementary in many respects to its prospective membership in the EU.