Global Public Policy Institute (13 September 2023)

Nils LANGE(*)

AVİM Note: Nils Lange, a former research fellow at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Ankara/Türkiye (an organization with which AVİM has cooperated on numerous occasions), is well acquainted with the political affairs and sensitivities of both the European Union and Türkiye. Due to his intimate knowledge of the issue at hand, the points made in Lange’s article are worthy of consideration.

In September 1963, the EU’s predecessor organization and Turkey signed an association agreement that was meant to pave the way toward full membership for Ankara. Six decades later, frustration has replaced hope while tension mounts. It’s time for a new approach.

A path to deeper economic and political integration with Europe. Closer economic ties between Turkey and the EU’s predecessor body, the European Economic Community. Open doors that Turkey need only walk through: that was the basic promise of the Ankara Agreement. Today, this vision seems a long way off, and the process set in motion 60 years ago has been stalled for years.

Contemporary Turkey is a different country than it was in 1963. Although it faces economic difficulties, the nation on the Bosphorus is among the world’s 20 largest economies. It is also involved in the most pressing conflicts in its neighborhood and has become a serious regional power. This new reality demands a fundamental reorientation of the EU’s relations with Ankara – one that is free of old illusions. Europe’s security also depends on its ties with Turkey.

To read the rest of the article, please click: https://gppi.net/2023/09/13/lets-venture-a-reset-in-eu-turkey-relations

A German version of this commentary was originally published by Internationale Politik on 12 September 2023: http://internationalepolitik.de/de/60-jahre-ankara-abkommen-zeit-fuer-einen-aufbruch-ohne-illusionen

(*) Non-resident fellow, Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi)