The 'Norway Model' for a Privileged Partnership Between the EU and Turkey

Even though no one has officially declared the halt of Turkey's EU accession process, Ankara's membership negotiations have effectively been stalled over the past few years. Neither Brussels nor Ankara wants a complete collapse of bilateral ties which are strong, multifaceted, and complex as well as beneficial for both Turkey and the EU. As argued by some analysts, the EU and Turkey do not have to stick with full membership as the only alternative going forward.The two sides can modify the relationship toward building a privileged partnership based upon one of the external differentiated integration models. The "Norway model" of integration with the EU might be a feasible option for Turkey and the EU because the two sides have already agreed to upgrade their Customs Union (CU). This paper analyses the Norway option for an alternative path to the Turkish-EU ties comparing the model with the status quo as well as with two proposed scenarios by the European Commission, which are negotiating a CU plus a sector-specific Free Trade Agreement, and replacing the CU with a Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreement.