On the edge of the EU: Turkey’s choice between ‘privileged partnership’ and non-accession

Turkey’s negotiations on accession to the EU began on October 3, 2005. After more than 10 years, the future course of negotiations becomes as ambivalent and ambiguous as ever. While the fundamental debate on Turkey’s accession to the EU was about whether Turkey should be a full-member state or a ‘privileged partner’, the axis of Turkey’s integration to the EU began shifting to one of Turkey’s choice between ‘privileged partnership’ and non-accession. The main reason for making such an assumption is that there is no reliable evidence in the last decade to predict whether or not Turkey can, aims to or will ever become a full member of the EU. In addition to this, key actors of the EU such as France and Germany openly declared their opposition to Turkey’s accession and several EU member states including France and Austria announced their plans for a referendum on Turkey’s full membership. Therefore, it would be feasible to explore the possibilities of alternative choices to unification in advance.