The effects of Syrian immigration on Turkey-EU relations

The goal of this study is to investigate the multidirectional effect of the Syrian migration, which started due to the Syrian civil war in 2011 and turned into a mass migration crisis for Turkey and Europe since 2015, on Turkey-EU relations. In this context, it is aimed to examine and investigate the legal and institutional structures of the EU and Turkey, immigration policies and the fac-tors that are effective in shaping these policies with the effect of Syrian migration. As a result of the mass migration crisis caused by the Syrian civil war, millions of Syrians acted on security concerns, although the EU had followed a passive approach in the earlier stages of this migration, after deepening of this mass migration crisis and the bearing immigrants to European countries resulted in multidimensional and intense emergence immigrant/refugee problem. This situation has not only changed and transformed Turkey and EU countries politically, economically, legally, institutionally, socially and culturally, but has also deeply affected EU-Turkey relations. In order to cope with the new challenges arising because of all these impacts, changes and transformations, the support and interventions of international organizations, institutions and regional and global actors were also applied, this situation brought the impact of Syrian migration on Turkey-EU relations into a multidimensional and intricate problem. In this study, the effect of Syrian migration on Turkey-EU relations was discussed and evaluated. The EU's instrumentalization, externalization and securitization of Syrian migration, and the the militarization of the EU borders, thus its practices against human rights and European values tried to be revealed. The effects of this approach of the EU on Turkey-EU relations were discussed. Turkey, which followed an open-door policy, instrumentalized the Syrian migration on the basis of EU membership, updating the customs union, visa exemption/ease and economic burden and securitizing it in the context of border security. It is intended that the outcome of this research; opinions, determinations, theses and results, examination and evaluations made within the framework of this study will help to make on-site evaluations that will meet the interests and expectations of the parties in Turkey-EU relations, to develop a broader perspective and vision for the future of these relations, and to contribute to develop functional policies as a result. KEYWORDS: Migration, Syrian Migration, Refugee Crisis, European Union, EU-Turkiye Relations.