Introduction

Abstract

Trying to get a perspective on Turkey’s relationship with the European Community has been a difficult task, somewhat like attempting to paint landscape on a fast moving train: the scenery would change before a particular setting could be captured with its significant detail, and each new vista that came into view would appear in a different light. The constant shifts of focus that characterise the long history of Turkey’s association with the Community have been predicated no less by factors external to this relationship than a seeming inability of the two sides to develop a clear agenda of mutual concerns. It is true that both sides were informed by a different set of concerns right from the beginning. Turkey’s understanding of the Community was as defective as the Community’s perception of Turkey, and reciprocal misunderstandings remained the source for a long time of divergent views and attitudes. Moreover, the Turkish decision-makers on the one hand, and the Community leadership on the other, have had different considerations and caveats in mind regarding Turkey’s association with the Community and its potential for eventual membership. These differences stood in the way of obtaining a coherent framework within which to consider Turkey’s role as an associate member and an eventual partner of the Community.