when did turkey became part of european union
Accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey's application to accede to the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union (EU), was made on 14 April 1987.[4] After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949. The country has also been an associate member of the Western European Union from 1992 to its end in 2011. Turkey signed a Customs Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and was officially recognised as a candidate for full membership on 12 December 1999, at the Helsinki summit of the European Council.
Future enlargement of the European Union There are five recognised candidates for future membership of the European Union: Turkey (applied in 14 April 1987), Macedonia (applied in 22 March 2004), Montenegro (applied in 2008), Albania (applied in 2009) and Serbia (applied in 2009). All except Albania and Macedonia have started accession negotiations.[1][2] Kosovo, whose independence is not recognised by five EU member states,[3] and Bosnia and Herzegovina are recognised as potential candidates for membership by the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina has formally submitted an application for membership, while Kosovo has a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU, which generally precedes the lodging of membership application. In July 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the EU has no plans to expand before 2019[4] while Serbia and Montenegro, the most advanced candidates, are expected to join before 2025.[5] While the others are progressing, Turkish talks are at an effective standstill.[6]