Turkey and the European Union's Foreign Policy

The opening of accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU on October 3 2005 was a historic moment both for Turkey and the EU. Turkey’s accession to the EU carries significant implications for the future of the European Union. Its impact is going to be felt in the process of integration, the European identity, institutional mechanisms and the EU budget. Equally important, Turkey’s accession will have a significant impact on European Union’s foreign policy. This paper addresses the Turkish contributions to European Union’s foreign policy and takes the Turkish accession to the EU as an independent variable and elaborates on the possible contributions Turkey would have on European security in case of its membership and equally important assesses the costs of Turkey’s exclusion from the EU on the foreign policy dimension.