SEE Turkish Foreign Policy
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West. During the last several years, Turkey has continued to pursue its candidacy for membership in the European Union.
European Union
Main article: Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey has had Associate country status in the EU since 1963.
Turkey formally applied to join the European Community in 1987.
Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods.
It was officially recognised as a candidate for membership in 1999. The EU did not permit it to start negotiations for an extensive period, before they finally decided to start them in October 2005.
Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.
NATO
Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir, and the United States has maintained air forces at a Turkish base called Incirlik that is located near the Mediterranean city of Adana.
Other international organizations
Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Trade blocs
Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992, Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation.
Disputes - international
Complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea
Cyprus question with Greece
Dispute with downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Traditional demands regarding former claimed Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided.
Illicit drugs
key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes
major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul
laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul
government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate
Source
Last updated: 08-23-2005 20:59:03
