Effects of Syrian asylum seekers on European Union-Türkiye relations

The aim of this thesis is to determine the effects of Syrian asylum seekers on EU and Türkiye relations. Migration, an issue as old as human history; over time, it has become a common issue of people, societies and states. The opposition popular movements that started in North Africa in 2011 spread to Syria after a short time and resulted in a civil war in country. As a result of the civil war, millions of Syrians had to leave their country and seek refuge in other states. European Union member states and Türkiye have faced migration flows. Especially Syrians who wanted to reach Europe used Türkiye as a transit country and this situation caused a refugee crisis between the two sides. Within the scope of the research, the immigration policies of the EU and Türkiye, the emergence conditions of the Syrian Civil War, the refugee crisis and the reflections of this crisis on bilateral relations are emphasized. It is claimed that while it allows the Syrian refugees to develop cooperation between the EU and Türkiye, it causes a political crisis between the parties, thus causing the relations to bleed.