Turkey and European Community Membership

This research examines Turkey's application for full membership in the European Community (EC). Although the EC is commonly referred to in the singular, it is actually a collection of communities formed to deal with specific common functions, of which the European Economic Community (EEC) is one. As greater integration within the EC occurs, the independence of action of the separate communities is diminished, and the EC moves closer to becoming an entity (Weinberger, 1990, p. 29). In examining the potential membership of Turkey in the EC, it is necessary to consider political factors as well as economic factors, because new members to the organization are required to make political commitments as well as fulfill economic criteria.

The examination of Turkey's application for full membership in the EC is developed through the consideration of four topics. These topics are (1) the EC system and protocols for expansion, (2) the Turkish economy, (3) the history of Turkey's involvement with the EC, and (4) significant problems related to the acceptance of Turkey as a full member in the EC.

The EC System and Expansion Protocols

The EEC was created with the signing of a treaty in Rome in 1957, by Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Italy, Luxembourg, and the Nederlands (Paxton, 1991, p. 63). The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was created at the same

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ant actor in its own right. Yet it is plainly not a sovereign state" (Brewin and McAllister, 1988, p. 431). In the context of internal law, actions by the member states of the EC and the rulings of the European Court of Justice have created a situation which is consistent with a conception of the EC as a union of states (Brewin and McAllister, 1988, pp. 431467). Such decisive developments, however, have not occurred with respect to the external relations of the EC (Brewin and McAllister, 1988, pp. 431467). The fact that the EEC can and does act as a single entity in international economic relations is often misconstrued as proof that the EC can act in a similar way with respect to external political issues (Brewin and McAllister, 1988, pp. 431467). With respect to external political issues, the EC, as a single body, has very little more power to act independently of their member states than does the United Nations to act independently of the five permanent member states of the Security Council (Brewin and McAllister, 1988, pp. 431467). While the member states of the EC do not have the absolute power of veto available to the permanent members of the Security Council, they do have means of delaying or causing some modi
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Court Justice, Single Act, EC Turkey, Brewin McAllister, EURATOM ECSC, Deutsche Mark, Germany Turkish, Vona Smaghi, EC EC, Turkey EC, ec membership, court justice, pittman 1989, european monetary, single act, european monetary system, mcallister 1988, brewin mcallister 1988, brewin mcallister, monetary system, economic integration, turkish economy, mcallister 1988 pp, european court justice, schermers waelbroeck 1987,
Approximate Word count = 5101
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page)

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