EU ENLARGEMENT: TURKISH ACCESSION AND IDENTITY

Muhammad Jave Zulkarnaen

doi:10.30996/dia.v18i2.4381

Abstract

Turkey is one of the most important countries for the EU because it has a strategic position in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and even the Middle East. The good relationship between Turkey and the EU is based on history such as war, diplomacy, trade, art, cuisine, to culture. For centuries, the relationship between the two marked the deep economic, cultural, artistic, and social cooperation between the Ottoman Empire and the European powers of the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. At the same time, conflict and competition create an identity perception among EU countries towards Turkey. This paper attempts to explain the identity of Turkey and the European Union and to determine whether the identity as cultural or political affected the Turkish application to be a member of the European Union.

Highlights

The Neofunctionalism Approach views the vital role of domestic actors such as business associations, trade unions and pressing regions for further enlargement and integration to promote, economic, political, and supranational actors, in particular the European Commission and the European Court of Justice seeking to increase the strength of the EU over their members (Hooghe and Marks, 2001)
The argument about how important the geopolitical position of a country is in the international arena can be explained by the boundaries that surround the country.The strategic position where these boundaries are the linkages of cultural, economic, security, scientific and religious relations is very important for the country
The EU has transformed from the exclusive Western European organization to the center of gravity of European regional organizations that directs the close link between domestic policy making and transnational policy in the region

Summary

Introduction

The Neofunctionalism Approach views the vital role of domestic actors such as business associations, trade unions and pressing regions for further enlargement and integration to promote, economic, political, and supranational actors, in particular the European Commission and the European Court of Justice seeking to increase the strength of the EU over their members (Hooghe and Marks, 2001). The prospect of full membership of Turkey to the EU is seen in the 1963 Association Agreement between Turkey and the European Union which at that time was called the European Economic Community or EEC.

Results

Conclusion