The Issue of Turkey's Membership in the EU: Conditions and Debates Since the End of the Cold War

Turkey’s efforts to become a member of the European Union have a long precedent with numerous fluctuations. Turkish politicians, after the Ankara agreement and the creation of a customs alliance, perceived that they have passed the last obstacles to their accession to the European Union, and even they applied for full membership in April 1987. However, the fact was that each of the two parties held its particular outlooks and objectives. For example, Greece tried to use this issue as an instrument to put pressure on Turkey. In recent years, EU authorities have put forth such questions as the resolution of bilateral disputes with Greece or of the Cyprus question, cultural and identity differences, as conditions to facilitate membership. In this writing, a history of Turkey’s efforts and achievements thereof especially in the post-Cold War era is presented.