Turkey and the EU: Geography, Candidacy, and Complexity

Turkey and the EU: Geography, Candidacy, and Complexity

Geography: Turkey is transcontinental—3% in Europe (East Thrace), 97% in Asia (Anatolia).

EU Relations:

• Candidate since 1999.
• Accession negotiations opened 2005.
• Progress assessed regularly by European Commission.
• Key hurdles: rule of law, human rights, Cyprus, migration.

Membership remains a stated goal, but negotiations have effectively stalled since 2018.