Turkey as a Partner and Challenge for European Security

The current state of play in EU-Turkey relations reflects the state of the international order. While the de jure framework for relations between the EU and Turkey is the Accession Process whereby Turkey has been a candidate for accession to the European Union since 2005 (although its candidature remains frozen), the transactional state of the world order over the last few years, as well as economic, social and political crises within a number of European states, have led to a significant crisis in trust between Turkey, the EU and its member states. Consequently, relations are embedded in the domestic contexts of both Turkey and the EU.

There are also systemic factors at play that over time have complicated the relationship: Turkey has been implementing more autonomous foreign and security policies with its ‘self-help’ doctrine, whereas the EU has been propounding the need to be more geopolitical at a time when key member states have either called for a strategic partnership with Turkey or a revamping of the accession process. Hence, the issue of Turkey as both a partner and a challenge for European security is an acute one.

There is a growing divergence at a moment when the security agenda and challenges are accelerating. From the impact of Brexit to increased migration flows, the unresolved Cyprus issue, Eastern Mediterranean hydrocarbons, the delimitation of maritime boundaries in both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, the civil wars in Libya and Syria and their ramifications, divergent approaches to dealing with Russia and to a functional relationship between the EU and NATO-the security context is wide, varied and in need of cooperative policies and mechanisms. Thus, the current project brings together experts in foreign policy, security, the EU and Turkey with policy experience, a record of academic excellence and a history of collaborative efforts to address the topic at hand from the perspectives of the EU, Turkey and Greece-a mid-sized EU member state with a geography directly adjoining Turkey.

Reports of the project:

Mitat Çelikpala and Constantinos Filis – Turkey as a European Energy Partner and The Challenge for European Security

Çiğdem Üstün and Harry Papasotiriou – Brexit and Its Potential Impact on EU-Turkey Defense and Security Relations

Erol Kaymak and Zenonas Tziarras – Revisiting the Cyprus Conundrum in Turkey-EU Relations

Evren Balta, Constantinos Filis, and Mustafa Aydın – Russia, Turkey and the EU: An Uneasy Triangle

Bezen Balamir-Coşkun, Cihan Dizdaroğlu, and Dimitrios Triantaphyllou – Dialogue and Trust Building Among Youth and Civil Society: The Case of The EU and Turkey

“CATS’dan AB-Türkiye raporu: Gençler ve sivil toplumla diyalog güçlendirilsin”, Deutsche Welle Türkçe, 2022, https://www.dw.com/tr/catsdan-ab-t%C3%BCrkiye-raporu-gen%C3%A7ler-ve-sivil-toplumla-diyalog-g%C3%BC%C3%A7lendirilsin/a-60488819

M. Murat Erdogan and Markos Papakonstantis – Turkey as a Partner and Challenge for European Security, Migration and Asylum

“Türkiye ve Suriyeli sığınmacılar konusunda çarpıcı rapor”, Deutsche Welle Türkçe, 2022, https://www.dw.com/tr/t%C3%BCrkiye-ve-suriyeli-s%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1nmac%C4%B1lar-konusunda-%C3%A7arp%C4%B1c%C4%B1-rapor/a-60596334

Haldun Yalçınkaya and Markos Papakonstantis – Counterterrorism as an Area of Cooperation and Challenge to Turkey – The European Union Relations

Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe and Marilena Koppa – Turkey-EU Relations: The Security Perspective and The CDSP

Kostas Ifantis and Serhat Güvenç – EU Conditionality: A Sustainable Framework for Good Neighborly Relations Between Turkey and Greece?