Main problems in Turkey-EU relations since 2005

This thesis examines the main problems in the the ongoing accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU. From the times of the Ottoman Empire have been a part of the West.While the Ottoman Empire was going through a difficult process, the Westerners, called the Ottoman Empire ?the Sick Man of the tribe?. Even this labelling is an evidence of that the Ottoman Empire was seen a part of the West.After the Second World War, a contingent of European States, to prevent another world war, the European States estabilshed the EEC. In the second half of the 1950s, Turkey made an application to become an associate member of the EEC. In 1963, Turkey signedits association agreement (the Ankara Agreement) with the EEC. Between 1963 and 1999, no considerable progress was marked in the relations between the EU and Turkey. In 1999, Turkey was declared as a candidate country at Helsinki Summit. In 2005, negotiations between Turkey and the Union was launched However, so far only one chapter has been closed out of 35. Because of France, Austria, Greece and Cyprus several chapters remain unopened. This work tries to shed light on the meaning and locus main problems in Turkey-EU relations. In this context, the first section discusses the background of relations between Turkey and the Union. The second part of the text focuses on the reasons behind the decline in the EU-Turkey relations seen after the start of the negotiations. In the third part, the outlook of the European Union toward Turkey?s fullmembership is evaluated. In the last section of the third part, the policy of the European Union towards the Cyprus and the Aegean issues is analysed.The thesis will underline the `open-ended? nature of Turkey's accession negotiations that is emphasised in the"Negotiation Framework Agrement? of Turkey and will draw attention to the problems in the negotiations. The core issues between the EU and Turkey will be outlined. Perhaps the most important among these issues are the problems between Turkey and Greece. Due to the problems related to Cyprus, eight vichapters in Turkey?s negotiations could not be opened,and the process of negotiations between the Union and Turkey came to a halt. The EU is trying to solve the Cyprus and Aegean issues with `carrot and stick? politics. In this framework, while dealing with Greece, a Member State, the Union uses the carrot element of this policy, but while dealing with Turkey, a non-member it mostly uses the stick element. Keywords: European Union, EU-Turkey Relations, European Identity, TurkeyGreece Relations, The Cyprus Issue