EU-Turkey relations

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he would not be a party in sending migrants back to Turkey upon what he called "Samson Plan," stating the plan was "illegal" after it drew negative reactions both from the European Commission and several rights advocate groups.

The delivery of new, modernized Turkish identity cards will be completed across the country by 2018, as Turkish authorities recently announced Turkish IDs would be updated in line with the country's deal with the European Union on easing visa restrictions for Turkish citizens traveling to Europe.

Months after agreeing with Brussels to upgrade a decades-old Customs Union, Ankara has moved towards implementing practical steps that would bring the economies of Turkey and the European Union closer together.

There is no doubt that 2016 will be marked as the year of the EU for Turkey. This is particularly the case following the joint statement issued on Nov. 29 last year aiming to re-energize accession talks in return for an agreement on the refugee crisis. 

A quick glance at the immediate Turkey-EU calendar proves the intensification of dialogue:

The EU is far from satisfied with Turkey's cooperation in stemming the flow of migrants to Europe after a deal clinched late last year, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said Jan. 7.

1) EU, Turkey joined by Syrian migrant crisis

European Union leaders became desperate to slow the flow of humanity to the shores of Europe over the past year, as Turkey promised to retain more refugees on its soil in return for greater benefits from the 28-member bloc.

German chancellor Angela Merkel will lead a meeting of eight European states and Turkey on the sidelines of an EU summit on Dec. 17 to discuss plans to resettle refugees from Turkey.

Recently intensified dialogue between Turkey and the EU has already produced the opening of chapter 17, which addresses economic and monetary policy, on Dec. 14, nearly two years after the last chapter was opened. This increased the number of opened chapters to 15 out of 35 with hopes that 2016 will witness the opening of five more chapters.

Turkey aims to open more chapters in its accession process to the European Union and finalize the process as soon as possible, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has said a day after the EU decided to open its first chapter in more than two years. 

The European Union has just opened another membership negotiation chapter with Turkey, after a five-year lull in relations as Ankara struggles with serious foreign and domestic problems.