The changing Turkish approach towards the European Union after 9/II

Abstract

For over thirty years, Turkey has sought membership in what is today called the European Union (EU). This article argues that the most likely scenario to reach that goal is that Ankara will speed up its efforts to meet the EU’s membership criteria, and that the EU will begin accession talks and later admit Turkey as a member in a reasonable time period. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that Turkey’s determination to meet the accession criteria has increased in the post-9/11 era. Today, a growing number of Turkish people concur that meeting the accession criteria, let alone acquiring full membership, will serve Turkey’s interests. This is especially true when security considerations are taken into account. The second reason is that the EU itself has started to change its attitude toward Turkey’s membership application. An increasing number of EU citizens now believe that the membership of a gradually “Europeanizing” Turkey will be in the EU’s interests, mainly defined in terms of security and identity considerations.