| Contractual relations and the main steps towards the EU
Turkey has had a long association with the project of European integration. It made its first application to join what was then the European Economic Community (EEC) in July 1959. The EEC’s response to this first application was to propose the creation of an association between the EEC and Turkey until such time as circumstances permitted Turkey’s accession. This association came into being with the signing of the Ankara Agreement in September 1963. This Agreement envisaged the progressive establishment of a customs union which would bring the two sides closer together in economic and trade matters.
The Ankara Agreement was supplemented by an additional protocol signed in November 1970, which set out a timetable for the abolition of tariffs and quotas on goods circulating between Turkey and the EEC.
There was a temporary freeze in Turkish- EEC relations as a result of the military intervention in government in 1980. However, following the multiparty elections of 1983, relations were re-established and Turkey applied for full membership in 1987. The European Commission’s Opinion on Turkish membership, endorsed by the European Council in February 1990, confirmed Turkey’s eligibility for membership yet deferred an in-depth analysis of its application until the emergence of a more favourable environment.
Mutual trade between Turkey and the EU is a key factor in EU- Turkey relations. The customs union between Turkey and the EU was established in 1995. Since then, the European Community’s (EU-25) share in Turkey’s foreign trade has continued to increase to the extent that Turkey is now the EU’s 7th biggest trading partner (up from 9th in 1990). It is also now the 13th biggest exporter to the EU (up from 17th in 1990). In the first nine months of 2004, the proportion of Turkish exports destined for the EU increased to 54.87%. At the same time, the proportion of Turkey’s imports that came from the EU climbed to 50.62%. Turkey’s share in total EU exports has climbed since the financial crisis in 2001 to 3.95 % in 2004, while its share in total EU imports was 3.01% (Source : DG Trade).
At the Helsinki European Council of December 1999 Turkey was officially recognised as a candidate state on an equal footing with other candidate states. This marked the beginning of a pre-accession strategy for Turkey designed to stimulate and support its reform process through financial assistance and other forms of cooperation. Turkey also drew up a National Plan for the Adoption of the Acquis, which outlined the government’s own strategy for the harmonisation of its legislation with that of the EU.
A revised Accession Partnership was adopted by the European Council in May 2003. The purpose of the Accession Partnership is to assist the Turkish authorities in their efforts to meet the accession criteria, with particular emphasis on the political criteria. It covers in detail the priorities for accession preperations, in particular implementation of the acquis, and forms the basis for pre-accession assistance from Community funds.
A revised National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis was adopted in July 2003. Both the Accession Partnership and the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis are revised on regular basis to take account of progress made and to allow for new priorities to be set.
On 17 December 2004, the European Council defined the perspective for the opening of accession negotiations with Turkey. Following the opening of negotiations the European Commission is expected to produce a revised accession partnership document, which will identify priority areas in which Turkey needs to make progress.
The 44th session of the Turkey-EC Association Council was held in Luxembourg on 26 April 2005. At this meeting, the two sides reviewed the current status of EU-Turkey relations, with the EU summarising the state of play of preparations in view of the opening of accession negotiations, while Turkey outlined its expectations regarding the negotiation framework and the revised Accession Partnership.
A Joint Parliamentary Committee comprising representatives of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and the European Parliament also meets frequently to discuss matters related to EU-Turkey relations. The most recent meeting of the Committee took place at the end of February 2005. The next meeting is scheduled for June 2005.
EU assistance
Turkey is the beneficiary of a dedicated pre-accession financial assistance instrument to help it meet the criteria for EU membership. This was adopted by the European Council in December 2001. Prior to this, Turkey was a beneficiary of the MEDA programme, which is the principal financial instrument for the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. EU pre-accession assistance provides support for institution building, investment to strengthen the regulatory infrastructure needed to ensure compliance with the acquis, and investment in economic and social cohesion. Accreditation for decentralised implementation of the programmes was granted at the end of 2003.
Around €1.15 billion of EU financing is currently being managed in Turkey for projects committed between 1996 and 2004 inclusive. The budgetary allocation for 2005 is 300 m€, and for 2006, 500 m€. From 2007 Turkey, along with other candidate and potential candidate countries, will be a beneficiary of the IPA instrument. It is expected that the average annual allocation for Turkey in the period 2007-2013 will be in excess of €1 billion.
As mentioned above, a revised accession partnership will be discussed with the Turkish government and presented to the European Council in late 2005. Once adopted, this will serve as the basis for financial programming in future years.
Discussions between the European Commission and the Turkish authorities on the 2005 programming started in September 2004. The priorities for the 2005 financial programme include supporting the implementation of the Copenhagen political criteria, including some closely-related subjects in the sector of Justice, Freedom and Security, supporting economic and social cohesion by targeting the poorest regions in Turkey, promoting the implementation of the acquis related to the customs union, the internal market, agriculture, environment, and promoting political and social dialogue between the EU and Turkey.
Overall, the impact of EU assistance to Turkey is increasingly positive. The EU has provided significant resources in a number of important areas such as basic education, training, environmental infrastructure and economic adjustment.
EU assistance is not the only source of financial support for helping Turkey to meet its Accession Partnership priorities. The country is also a major beneficiary of assistance from the European Investment Bank (EIB), with Turkey receiving EIB loans worth €1,955 million from 1992 to 2002. The Commission also cooperates extensively with the World Bank, which is particularly active in Turkey, occasionally co-financing projects. Discussions between the World Bank and Commission have taken place at all levels concerning the development of the former’s Country Assistance Strategy 2004-2006. |