Assessing Turkey’s Foreign Policy Choices towards the European Union

Abstract:

Turkey adopted a new strategy for its European Union accession process in 2014, in an attempt to revitalise its relations with the EU. Turkish foreign policy towards the European Union has remained consistent with full membership as its main goal. However, since 2013, there have been significant challenges for the realisation of that foreign policy objective, with the altering geopolitical environment and the changing preferences in the European Union.

Turkey’s own foreign policy choices towards the EU were impacted by the loss of both EU’s credibility in its enlargement policy and its attractiveness as an economic magnet. This paper analyses the role of the EU specific external factors on Turkish foreign policy, and assesses the reformulation of Turkey’s relations with the European Union after 2014. The main conclusion of the paper is that Turkey’s foreign policy towards the EU has altered and a new pattern of cooperation is emerging between these two players.