Table showing the main stages in relations between Turkey and the European Union, from the signing of the Association Agreement in 1963 to the opening of accession negotiations in 2005.

On 12 September 1963, the European Economic Community (EEC) and Turkey sign an Association Agreement in Ankara.

On 12 September 1963, as the Association Agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and Turkey is signed in Ankara, Walter Hallstein, President of the EEC Commission, gives an address in which he emphasises the historic importance of the event.

On 23 November 1970, Ihsan Sabri Çaglayangil (centre), Turkish Foreign Minister, signs the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement between the European Economic Community and Turkey, in the presence of Maurice Schumann, French Foreign Minister (left), and Walter Scheel, German Foreign Minister (right).

On 23 November 1970, in Brussels, Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the European Commission, signs the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and Turkey.

Signatures appended in Brussels on 23 November 1970 to the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement between the European Economic Community (EEC) and Turkey.

In 1979, the Revue du Marché Commun publishes an interview with Émile Noël, former Secretary-General of the Commission of the European Communities, conducted by Abdi Ipekci, Editor-in-Chief of the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet, on the development of relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and Turkey.

In this interview, Edmund Wellenstein, Director-General for Foreign Trade at the Commission of the European Communities from 1967 to 1970, describes the strategic importance of the European Communities’ relations with Greece and Turkey in the 1960s, particularly highlighting the external influence of the United States.

Le 14 avril 1987, Turgut Özal, Premier ministre de la République de Turquie, adresse à Leo Tindemans, ministre belge des Affaires étrangères et président en exercice du Conseil des Communautés européennes, une lettre dans laquelle il demande l'adhésion de la Turquie à la Communauté économique européenne.

On 9 October 1985, Richard Balfe, British Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Political Affairs Committee, submits his report on the human rights situation in Turkey.

On 15 April 1987, the day after Turkey submitted its application for accession to the European Communities, the French daily newspaper Le Monde outlines the obstacles to Turkey’s participation in the efforts towards European integration.

On 15 April 1987, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País comments on Turkey’s application for accession to the European Communities and outlines the main challenges it raises.

On 8 May 1987, the French weekly magazine L’Express speculates about the implications of Turkey’s possible accession to the European Communities.

On 18 June 1987, the European Parliament adopts a resolution on a political solution to the Armenian question and asks the Council to secure from the Turkish Government an acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide of 1915–1917, thereby enabling a political dialogue to be established between Turkey and the representatives of the Armenian people.

On 20 December 1989, in response to Turkey’s application for accession to the European Communities submitted on 14 April 1987, the European Commission delivers a negative opinion on the opening of accession negotiations, citing both economic and political reasons.

On 12 May 1994, the French weekly magazine L’Express publishes an interview with Tansu Ciller, Turkish Prime Minister, on the situation in Turkey and on the role that it could play in Europe and in the world.

On 29 September 1994, the French weekly news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur publishes an interview with Tansu Ciller, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, devoted, in particular, to the political situation in that country and to the conclusion of a customs union between Turkey and the European Union.

On 8 February 1995, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the agreement of principle reached by the Foreign Ministers of the Fifteen on the conclusion of a customs union with Turkey.

On 4 March 1995, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País comments on the agreement reached between the 15 European Union Member States and the Turkish delegation on the establishment of a customs union with Turkey. Once Greece lifts its veto, in exchange for agreement on certain issues (such as the start of negotiations with Cyprus for its accession to the EU), the customs union eventually comes into force on 1 January 1996. The aim of the union is to eliminate trade barriers for industrial products and processed agricultural products and to apply the EU’s common external tariff in Turkey.

On 20 October 1995, the French Catholic daily newspaper La Croix considers that recent political events and the rise of Islam in Turkey may well jeopardise the entry into force of the Treaty establishing a Customs Union with the European Economic Community (EEC), due to take place on 1 January 1996.

On 22 December 1995, the EC–-Turkey Association Council adopts Decision No 1/95 on the implementation of the final phase of the Customs Union between Turkey and the European Economic Community (EEC).

In 1995, in an article published in the journal Affari Esteri, Giuseppe Scognamiglio, Italian Consul in Izmir, emphasises Italy’s determination to strengthen its economic contacts with Turkey in the run-up to the entry into force of the Customs Union between Turkey and the European Economic Community (EEC), due to take place on 1 January 1996.

On 20 December 1995, the French daily newspaper Libération comments on Greece’s opposition to the conclusion of a customs union between the European Union and Turkey.

Meeting in Luxembourg on 12 and 13 December 1997, the Fifteen adopt a European strategy for Turkey. They confirm the country’s eligibility for accession to the European Union but without giving it the status of an applicant country.

On 13 December 1997, commenting on the political implications of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera analyses the scope of the debate on the possible opening of accession negotiations with Turkey, a debate which has a decisive influence on the Fifteen's decision to start the overall process of accession of the 10 countries applying for accession to the European Union.

On 13 December 1997, in connection with the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on the reaction in Turkey to the Council’s decision not to open accession negotiations with that country.

On 15 December 1997, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on Turkish reactions to the decision of the Luxembourg European Council not to open European Union accession negotiations with Turkey.

On 15 December 1997, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País publishes a column by the journalist Hermann Tertsch, who analyses the question of Turkey’s accession to the European Union. The author understands why the Turkish authorities are irritated by the lengthy accession process and the hostility of some European countries at the idea of Turkey’s integration into the EU. He suggests that it would have been preferable to warn Turkey at the outset that some European countries have always been and will remain opposed to the possibility of Turkish accession. However, Turkey must also make progress in the fight against corruption and torture, find a solution to the Kurdish situation and build a state based on the rule of law that provides a solid basis for democracy.

On 16 December 1997, the French daily newspaper Le Monde describes Turkey’s anger at the European Council’s decision not to grant Turkey the status of applicant country for accession to the European Union.

On 16 December 1997, the German daily newspaper Die Welt describes the reactions of Turkish leaders following the decision of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December to postpone the opening of European Union accession negotiations.

On 16 December 1997, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir publishes extracts from the comments which appeared in the Turkish press following the decision taken at the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December to postpone the negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 17 December 1997, the French daily newspaper Libération comments on the Turkish reaction to the decision taken at the Luxembourg European Council, held on 12 and 13 December, to postpone the start of negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union.

On 17 December 1997, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort outlines the reasons behind the decision of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December to postpone the opening of European Union accession negotiations with Turkey.

On 17 December 1997, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera comments on Italy’s critical attitude towards the decision of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December to postpone the opening of European Union accession negotiations with Turkey.

In this cartoon, the German cartoonist Walter Hanel portrays senior European officials frightened at the prospect of a Turkish application for accession to the European Union.

On 10 and 11 December 1999, the Helsinki European Council decides that Turkey is an applicant country that is destined to join the Union on the basis of the same criteria as applied to the other applicant countries.

On 12 December 1999, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the decision of the Helsinki European Council to grant Turkey the status of applicant country for accession to the European Union.

On 16 December 1999, following the Helsinki European Council of 11 and 12 December, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the potential geopolitical consequences of Turkey’s possible future accession to the European Union.

On 13 April 2000, Ludger Volmer, Junior Minister in the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), outlines the FRG’s position on Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 7 December 2000, on the fringes of the Nice European Council, Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement, outlines why Turkey must implement important political reforms if it is, one day, to accede to the European Union.

In April 2002, Nihat Akyol, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Turkey to the European Union, gives an account of the evolution of Euro–Turkish relations and analyses the implications of his country’s accession to the European Union.

On 9 November 2002, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the Convention on the Future of Europe, grants an interview to the French daily newspaper Le Monde in which he expresses his strong opposition to Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

On 11 December 2002, reporting on the forthcoming Copenhagen European Council, the French daily newspaper Le Monde publishes an article written by Abdullah Gül, Turkish Prime Minister, who is pressing for the accession of his country to the European Union.

On 14 January 2004, one month after the decision taken by the Brussels European Council to open negotiations with Turkey on accession to the European Union, Denis MacShane, British Minister of State for Europe, delivers an address at the University of Izmir on relations between Turkey and the European Union.

On 2 March 2003, Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament, delivers an address to the Grand National Assembly in Ankara in which he places particular emphasis on the progress made by Turkey so that it is in a position to accede to the European Union.

On 4 April 2004, Dutch Foreign Minister Atzo Nicolaï emphasises that Turkey’s accession to the European Union does not depend solely on the accession criteria that need to be met, but also on whether the EU is in a position to welcome new members.

On 29 September 2004, in an article for the French daily newspaper Libération, Alain Duhamel, former MEP, emphasises the need to separate the Turkish question from the French campaign for the referendum on the European Constitution.

On 6 October 2004, the European Commission publishes its recommendation on Turkey’s progress towards accession to the European Union, stating that accession negotiations should be opened.

On 6 December 2004, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, delivers an address to the European Parliament in which he outlines the reasons why the Commission recommends the opening of negotiations with Turkey on accession to the European Union.

On 6 October 2004, the Conference of Presidents on Turkey’s application for accession comments on the position of the European institutions on Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union. From left to right: Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner responsible for the enlargement negotiations, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament, Julian Priestley, Secretary-General of the European Parliament, Harald Rømer, Deputy Secretary-General of the European Parliament, and Brigitte Stensballe, Director in the European Parliament Secretariat.

On 7 October 2004, in an article published in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Günter Verheugen, Commissioner for Enlargement, comments on the European Commission’s recommendation that accession negotiations be opened with Turkey and gives reasons for the Commission’s decision.

On 14 October 2004, as debates are held in the National Assembly in Paris on Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, French Prime Minister, outlines the issues involved in the debate and sets out the position adopted by his government.

On 20 October 2004, Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement, delivers an address in Istanbul in which he outlines the policy pursued by the European Commission with regard to future relations between the European Union and Turkey.

On 22 October 2004, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister, outlines the reasons why he believes that Turkey must be able to accede to the European Union.

On 23 September 2004, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister, meets Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, to discuss the opening of negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. This meeting was an opportunity to address any remaining obstacles preventing the European Commission from making a recommendation on the date for the opening of the accession negotiations.

On 23 September 2004, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets Günter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enlargement. The visit of the Turkish Prime Minister is an opportunity to address any remaining obstacles preventing a favourable response by the European Commission on the opening of negotiations with Turkey for accession to the European Union.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister since 2003, is an active supporter of Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union.

On 27 October 2004, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro emphasises the close relationship between the debates being held in France on the European Constitution and on Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union.

‘Euro-Club with partner (Turkey).’ The issue of Turkey’s accession to the European Union is tainted by the issue of the respect for minorities and human rights.

On 25 November 2004, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit welcomes the European Commission’s decision to recommend that the Twenty-Five open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey but emphasises the difficulties which still need to be overcome.

On 13 December 2004, in Brussels, Michel Barnier, French Foreign Minister, addresses the issue of the possible opening of negotiations with Turkey for its accession to the European Union.

On 16 and 17 December 2004, at the Brussels European Council, the Heads of State or Government of the Twenty-Five welcome the prospect of Bulgarian and Romanian accession to the European Union in January 2007 and call on the Council to reach an agreement with a view to the opening of accession negotiations with Croatia on 17 March 2005 and with Turkey on 3 October 2005.

At the Brussels European Council of 16 and 17 December 2004, the 25 Member States invite the European Commission to submit a recommendation as to whether the European Union should open accession negotiations with Turkey.

On 16 December 2004, in an address to the Bundestag, Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), expresses his support for Turkey’s accession to the European Union and his opposition to the idea of a special partnership.

On 17 December 2004, in Brussels, Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, answers journalists’ questions about the decision to open EU accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

On 17 December 2004, Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament, delivers an address to the Brussels European Council in which he states that the European Parliament supports Turkey’s full membership of the European Union.

On 20 December 2004, in the House of Commons in London, Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, emphasises the historic decision taken at the Brussels European Council to open negotiations with Ankara for Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 4 January 2005, Ferdinando Riccardi, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe in Brussels, identifies the grey areas which, in his view, surround the decision to open negotiations with Turkey for its accession to the European Union.

On 5 January 2005, Ferdinando Riccardi, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe in Brussels, identifies the difficulties which, in his eyes, are in danger of affecting the negotiation procedures for Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 6 January 2005, Ferdinando Riccardi, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe in Brussels, sets out the political implications for Turkey of its possible accession to the European Union.

On 7 January 2005, Ferdinando Riccardi, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe in Brussels, sets out the arguments of those in favour and those against Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 11 January 2005, Ferdinando Riccardi, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe in Brussels, identifies the contradictory attitudes of the Turkish leaders towards their country’s possible accession to the European Union.

On 16 December 2004, the French weekly news magazine Le Point is sceptical at the possibility of Turkey’s accession to the European Union and calls, instead, for a new, intermediate method of association.

On 16 December 2004, the day of the opening of the Brussels European Council, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung criticises the decision taken by the European Commission to recommend that the Twenty-Five open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey.

On 16 December 2004, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro analyses the arguments for and against Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

On 17 December 2004, the French daily newspaper Libération lists the problems which might be encountered during the negotiations for Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 18 December 2004, commenting on the outcome of the Brussels European Council held on 16 and 17 December, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung emphasises that the decision to open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey does not prejudice the country’s actual accession to the European Union in the long term.

On 18 December 2004, on the eve of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs, considers the nature of Turkey’s negotiations for accession to the European Union in an article for the Luxembourg daily newspaper Lëtzebuerger Journal.

On 18 December 2004, the day after the Brussels European Council held on 16 and 17 December, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on the decision taken by the Twenty-Five to open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey.

On 20 December 2004, commenting on the outcome of the Brussels European Council held on 16 and 17 December, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro emphasises the diplomatic skill demonstrated by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the debates which preceded the decision taken by the Twenty-Five to open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey.

On 20 December 2004, following the Brussels European Council held on 16 and 17 December, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort comments on the decision taken by the Twenty-Five to open negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey.

On 20 December 2004, in an interview granted to the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, Karel Van Miert, former European Commissioner, speaks out against the possibility of Turkey acceding to the European Union.

On 20 December 2004, in an article for the French daily newspaper Libération, following the Brussels European Council held on 16 and 17 December, Josep Borrell, President of the European Parliament, outlines Parliament’s position on the possible accession of Turkey to the European Union.

On 20 December 2004, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País analyses the question of Turkey’s accession to the European Union and concludes that neither Turkey nor the EU are ready for this accession.

‘Don’t be afraid, it’s not the Turks. It’s only the moon and the evening star.’ In 2004, the German cartoonist, Walter Hanel, illustrates the fears of some of the European general public at Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

‘New members are arriving.’ In 2005, the cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, illustrates the awkward position of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, with regard to the issue of Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union.

In this interview on 10 April 2005, Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, gives his views on the terms for Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

On 11 May 2005, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro publishes an article by the working party entitled ‘The Yes for the No’, whose members emphasise the need to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in order to be able to provide more effective opposition to Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

In this article published in spring 2005, Dostena Anguelova-Lavergne speculates on the nature of the political and cultural relations between Europe and Turkey in the light of Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

On 2 September 2005, in response to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Five held on 1 and 2 September in Newport, Wales, in order to discuss whether or not to maintain the date of 3 October for the opening of negotiations for the accession of Turkey to the European Union and to clarify how they will be conducted, Albert Rohan, former Director-General of the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Martti Athisaari, former President of Finland, emphasise the need for the European Union to honour its earlier commitments and to open accession negotiations with Turkey, despite the political difficulties associated with the recognition of the Republic of Cyprus.

On 2 September 2005, in response to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Five held on 1 and 2 September in Newport, Wales, in order to discuss whether or not to retain the date of 3 October for the opening of negotiations for accession to the European Union with Turkey and to clarify how they will be conducted, Günter Verheugen, appointed Vice-President of the European Commission presided since 2004 by José Manuel Barroso after having had special responsibility for Enlargement and, subsequently, for European Neighbourhood Policy in the Commission presided by Romano Prodi from 1999 to 2004, grants an interview to the French daily newspaper Le Monde in which he supports Turkey’s application for accession to the European Union.

On 7 October 2005, the French cartoonist Plantu portrays the numerous obstacles that line the way towards Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union, in particular the issues of Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and the Cyprus question.

On 13 October 2005, the French cartoonist Plantu comments ironically on the slow progress of Turkey’s process of accession to the European Union. Turkey’s first application for accession to the European Economic Community dates from 14 April 1987.

In this interview, Gaston Thorn, former Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and, subsequently, President of the European Commission, emphasises the significance and the implications of Turkey's accession to the European Union.

In this interview, Leo Tindemans, former Belgian Prime Minister and Minister for External Relations, criticises the European Union’s attitude, which he considers to be ambiguous, towards Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

On 9 January 2006, at a press conference held in Vienna after a working meeting between the Austrian Government and the European Commission, Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian Chancellor and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, sets out the terms for the opening of negotiations with Turkey on accession to the European Union.

In this interview, Catherine Lalumière, former French Junior Minister for European Affairs and former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, emphasises the political, economic, geostrategic and religious implications of Turkey’s possible accession to the European Union.

In this interview excerpt, Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities from 1985 to 1995, gives his thoughts on the success of the EU's enlargements, seen from a historical perspective that will continue to develop, and explains that he is therefore of the view that negotiations should be held for Turkey's accession.