Turkey and the EU: Charting the Course Ahead

 Revista CIDOB d'afers internacionals, núm. 75

The analyses that comprise this monograph share the condition of having been debated within the framework of a seminar held a few days after the historical date of October 3, 2005, which marked the beginning of negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union. This is the point of departure for a reflection aimed at evaluating the changes and reforms undertaken by this country to adapt itself to the demands of a future accession to the EU, without losing sight of the challenges still pending and the opportunities that this area offers, with a population of 70 million people and a key geostrategic role for the Union. All of this, moreover, conceived as an instrument for a better understanding in our country of Turkey’s political, economic and social reality and its relations with the EU. In the face of the uncertainty generated by a lengthy process that should finalise in 2015, we should highlight the optimistic view offered to us by the Professor of International Relations at the University of Ankara, Atila Eralp, in his analysis of Turkish foreign policy: “If Turkey continues advancing toward accession to the EU, eventually it will be in a condition to play the kind of role that Spain played in its day, when it was in a condition to formulate, in a substantial way, EU policy toward Latin America, or even the role being played by Poland, which is trying to mould EU policy toward Eastern Europe. In the same way, Turkey could someday contribute to designing EU policy in the eastern Mediterranean”.

Co-ordination:Alexandre Muns, Lecturer in European Integration and the Integration of Economic Institutions, Escola Superior de Comerç Internacional (ESCI), Pompeu Fabra University, and Head of Studies for the American Chamber of Commerce in Spain

206 pp.

ISSN: 1133-6595

>> Complete text of the articles in the Spanish version.