Accession of Turkey to the European Union

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Istanbul on Saturday that 18,000 migrants had crossed the border, without providing evidence, adding that the number could rise to 25,000-30,000 on Saturday.

Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan has told the ambassadors of EU countries in Ankara that Turkey is waiting for the European Commission to renew the 1996 customs union agreement.

"Your contributions in this sense are exceptionally important. We invite you to work with the business world," she said at a meeting with the EU Delegation to Turkey on Feb. 26.

The Ankara Agreement and Customs Union with Turkey will continue during the Brexit transition period of 2020, and the two countries will work to sign a bilateral free trade agreement to be put into effect as of Jan. 1, 2021, British Ambassador to Ankara Sir Dominick Chilcott said on Feb. 7.

With the latest worrying developments in the international scene, I believe it is time for the EU to rethink its policy approach towards Turkey. Both Turkey and the EU face the same difficulties, especially at the moment in the Middle East.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Feb. 5 warned against deepening distrust between Turkey and the European Union and said ties are passing through a very critical period.

The minister called on the EU to open a new page in accession talks which has been stalled for the past few years.

The United Kingdom leaving the European Union is a bad decision for the British, the union, and everyone else including Turkey, according to a retired Turkish diplomat.
"The U.K. has traditionally been one of the most forceful supporters of Turkish integration with the EU," Selim Kuneralp has told Hürriyet Daily News.

The East Mediterranean region is rapidly evolving into a strategically vital yet vulnerable region. The so-called Arab Spring and its consequences, especially in Syria and Libya, have made the whole region even more fragile.

Despite the stagnation that has marked Turkey's accession negotiations for half a decade, the majority of the public supports joining the European Union, according to a recent poll conducted by MetroPOLL.

While few believe that Turkey can become a member of the EU, more than half think necessary steps are being taken by Turkey in that direction, the poll said.

Must Turkey always stand alone in the world? It has been a member of NATO for nearly 60 years, but on many issues, it looks to many Turks as if it is on its own. That feeling has, of course, been reinforced in the last 15 years by the European Union's decision to reject Turkey's application for full membership - and its complete blindness towards the fateful consequences of its action.

Turkey and the European Union are willing to advance bilateral trade and investment relations, Turkey's trade minister said on Dec. 20.

"We had a fruitful meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan" to address various issues of mutual interest, Ruhsar Pekcan told a press conference following her official talks in Brussels.