who claimed a homeland in parts of turkey iran and iraq
Kurdistan Kurdistan (/ˌkɜːrdɪˈstæn, ˈstɑːn/; Kurdish: کوردستان‎ [ˌkʊɾdɯˈstɑːn] ( listen); lit. "homeland of the Kurds")[4] or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural historical region wherein the Kurdish people form a prominent majority population[5] and Kurdish culture, languages and national identity have historically been based.[6] Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges.[7] The territory corresponds to Kurdish irredentist claims.
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.