Alliance Géostratégique

After Menekse Tokyay (“L’Islam peut aussi s’approprier le projet européen”), Ekavi Athanassopoulou (“The crux of the issue is Turkey’s size and enormous potential”) and the Jeunes Européens – France (Candidature turque : “L’Europe doit maintenant affirmer son ambition”), Kadri Kaan Renda, doctoral student in European Studies Department at King’s College London, gives us his point of view on Turkey and its relations with the European Union.

Can you summarize the current economic and political relations between the EU and Turkey?

The European Union (EU) has always played a crucial role in Turkish economy and politics in one way or other. This is of course not accidental. Needless to say, the Turkey-EU relations commenced as an economic cooperation with political and strategic considerations in minds of both parties. The reasons behind the establishment of the Customs Union in 1995 are not only economic but also political. Since then the EU is Turkey’s most important trade partner. More than half of Turkey’s trade is with the EU and Turkey is economically the most integrated candidate into the EU’s economic structures with ironically no rights in the decision-making process.
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AGS a demandé à Cem Devrim Yaylali (Unofficial Homepage of Turkish Navy et Bosphorus Naval News) sa lecture personnelle des relations entre la France et la Turquie.

Iskenderun: Benoît de LAURELLE, Military attaché – Cemil AKSAK, Sub-Governor of Iskenderun – Bernard EMIÉ, French Ambassador in Ankara – Captain Gilles BOIDEVEZI, Commander of frigate Jean Bart.

I would like to thank to the editor and the contributors of this blog for allowing me to write as a guest. I feel honoured.

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After Menekse Tokyay last week (« L’Islam peut aussi s’approprier le projet européen »), Dr Ekavi Athanassopoulou, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Athens and Senior Research Fellow at ELIAMEP (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy), has accepted to answer a few questions about Turkey and its candidacy to the European Union.

What is the official position of Greece regarding Turkey’s candidacy for EU membership? What about Greek public opinion?

Athens is very much in favour of Turkey’s accession to the EU as long as it fulfils the required by the EU criteria. The majority of Greek public opinion thinks along the same lines.

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