The Impact of Turkey's Potential Membership On European Union's Relations with the United States

Historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between the European Union (EU) and the United States was formalised for the first time with the Transatlantic Declaration in 1990. According to this Declaration and further documents, transatlantic partnership supports democracy, the rule of law, respects for human rights and individual liberty, promotes prosperity and social progress world- wide, safeguards peace and promotes stability and international security. Also, the EU and the USA contribute to the expansion of world trade and respond to global challenges such as terrorism, environmental and energy issues together. This study evaluatres today’s the most powerful, the most comprehensive and the strategically most important relationship in the world by assuming that Turkey is member of the EU. Turkey, having strong historical, political, cultural, and military ties between the USA, Europe and Middle East -Caspian Sea Basin has the capacity of being a convergence factor. Especially, Turkey is seen as a bridge of energy security and its army is perceived as a shield of this security by many scholars. Also, its proximity to unstable regions and its active role as a democratic Muslim state in these regions have impact on transatlantic relation. In this study, the impacts of Turkey’s membership into the EU on the EU’s relation with the USA will be analysed in terms of realizing their common goals by studying different aspects of Turkey’s geo-strategic position and its economy.