Turkey – EU: the evolution of relations from the Ankara Agreement to the Customs Union
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Abstract. The purpose of the article is aimed at a systematic study of the evolution of the partnership between Turkey and the EU - from the establishment of the foundations of the Association to its full implementation. The paper reveals the instruments for implementing the Ankara Agreement of 1963 and the Additional Protocol of 1970, and also analyzes the strategic significance of the transition to the final stage of integration, which ended with the creation of a common Customs Union in 1995. The key role of the Ankara Agreement as an institutional foundation that laid the strategic vector of Turkey's integration into the European economic space is determined. Scientific novelty: the study examines in detail for the first time the connection between the preferential trade conditions of the 1960s and the creation of the Customs Union in 1995. The author proves that trade advantages helped Turkey prepare for open competition with Europe. It is substantiated that the phased path prescribed in the Ankara Agreement has become a unique way of gradually transferring European laws and regulations into the legal system of Turkey. Special attention is paid to the Additional Protocol of 1970, which is defined as a “road map” for the gradual elimination of trade barriers and the implementation of the principles of free movement of goods, capital and labor. It is established that the creation of the Customs Union was the culmination of thirty years of legal harmonization. Conclusions. As a result, it is stated that the creation of the Customs Union was the natural culmination of a thirty-year preparatory process. It is proven that Decision No. 1/95 of the Association Council ensured an unprecedented level of integration of the Turkish industrial sector into the EU single market without the country’s formal accession to the Union. It is summarized that the success of this process depended on the readiness of the national economy to synchronize with European standards. The institutional framework that has been established has transformed Turkey from an agricultural exporter to one of the Community's leading industrial partners.
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