EU-Turkey Relations: A New Direction for EU Foreign Policy?

Turkey’s desire to be part of the European state system goes back to the Ottoman era. The Ottoman elites began to recognize the need for military, technological and administrative modernization towards the late eighteenth century, setting the tone for future relations with Europe. Notwithstanding Turkey’s search for a European identity, the European elites always hesitated in accepting Turkey as part of the European civilization. The reluctance was evident in 1989 when the EU rejected Turkey’s membership application of 1987, on the grounds that Ankara was politically and economically not ready to be part of Europe.