Turkey's Perspective on European Union's Mediterranean Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean

Περίληψη

  From a historical perspective, Turkey's conceptualization of the Mediterranean diverges considerably from that of the EU. Last year's French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which ran from July 1, to December 31, 2008, was an important turning point both in terms of restructuring the European Union's (EU) Mediterranean policy and rethinking Turkey's role within this specific area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). This paper aims to analyze Turkey's perspective on EU's Mediterranean policy in general and specifically on the French initiative UfM. Turkey-EU relations dynamics and the credibility of membership, geopolitical concerns and the image of the Mediterranean, the objectives and efficiency of the Barcelona Process are major factors influential in shaping Turkish perspective on the EU's Mediterranean policy. The paper discusses in historical perspective, these reasons behind patterns of change and continuity in Turkey's approach to the developments from the EMP to the UfM.