Turkey's long wait for EU entry

Turkey has been knocking on the EU’s door for more than 40 years, watching in frustration as other countries leapfrogged Ankara in the queue to join the Union.

:: Turkey joined Nato in 1952 and, when the then Common Market was created by six countries in 1957, Ankara assumed it was on the first track to join.

:: Instead the Turks had to settle for an “Association Agreement” signed with the Community in 1963. It amounted to a glorified trade deal, coupled with a hint of possible full membership later.

:: Turkey’s grim human rights and democracy record, and the continuation of the death penalty, effectively scuppered the country’s chances with the EU for years. As other nations, including the UK and Ireland, signed on, the Turks were left far behind.

:: In 1980 even the “Association Agreement” was suspended following a military coup and was not reinstated until 1986.

:: In the next year, 1987, Turkey formally applied once more for membership, but was rebuffed by the European Commission in 1989 because of continuing human rights violations.

:: It was another decade before Turkey was accepted as an official candidate for membership in 1999. By then the Turks had enjoyed access to the EU single market thanks to a “Customs Union” forged in 1996.

:: Once it had become an official candidate to be considered for full accession talks, Turkey had to prove worthy by improving its human rights and stepping up democratic freedoms.

:: The minimum acceptable conditions were set by EU leaders in 2002.

:: After many faltering starts – including a public relations disaster earlier this year when the Turkish Parliament tried to make adultery illegal – Turkey was deemed in a European Commission report in October ready for formal membership talks to begin.

:: EU leaders were therefore recommended to approve the move at their December 16 summit.

:: But EU approval for talks is just the start: accession negotiations with Turkey will take at least ten years, making it a half-century wait for Ankara to join the club.