Turkey’s foreign and security policy could be a real asset for Europe. As a veritable bridge between East and West, Turkey holds a key geostrategic position: Europe would be wrong to deprive itself of such an asset. Not only is Turkey an active participant in several EU crisis-management operations and a major partner in the NATO operation in Afghanistan, it is also an important transit country for energy imports into Europe and a key player in any solution to the Middle East conflict. Turkish relations with Armenia are also improving, which could help in resolving the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Turkey’s Security Policy and EU-NATO Relations

As a NATO member state and a pillar of Western defence in Europe, Turkey’s quest for EU accession dates back to 1963. The question of its accession to the European Union may raise concerns of a social, economic or cultural nature, but in terms of European common security and defence, Turkey can make a significant contribution to the EU given its geopolitical situation, wise diplomacy and substantial military strength.

However, the Turkish authorities feel that the public at large, in both the EU and Turkey, is suffering from enlargement fatigue or becoming distinctly lukewarm about the project. Both the European public and European leaders have shown growing hesitation towards further enlargement and the conditions to be met for accession seem continually to be raised to more stringent levels than for other candidate countries.⁽¹⁾