Türkiye's involvement with European integration dates back to 1959 and includes the Ankara Association Agreement (1963) for the progressive establishment of a Customs Union (ultimately set up in 1995).

Accession negotiations started in 2005, but until Türkiye agrees to apply the Additional Protocol of the Ankara Association Agreement to Cyprus, eight negotiation chapters will not be opened and no chapter will be provisionally closed.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye has four main missions:

• External Relations & Diplomacy: The Delegation represents the European Union at the diplomatic level and reports on Türkiye’s foreign policy developments. As a diplomatic mission, the Delegation operates under the terms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and is led by a Head of Delegation, accredited to the President of Türkiye with the rank of ambassador.
• Economic & Trade Monitoring: In relation to the Customs Union between the EU and Türkiye, the Delegation monitors economic, financial, and trade developments in Türkiye as well as the implementation of the Customs Union provisions.
• EU Accession & Compliance: As part of Türkiye’s EU accession negotiations, the Delegation monitors the country’s progress in meeting the political criteria and aligning with the EU acquis and helps with the progress of the negotiations. It provides daily reports to the Headquarters, contributing to the European Commission’s Country Report.
• Coordination & Public Engagement: The Delegation maintains close contacts and coordinates its work with the embassies of the EU member states in Türkiye. The Delegation also maintains a wide range of contacts with public authorities, political parties, the business community, academia, think tanks, civil society organisations and cultural operators. In addition, it runs a comprehensive information and communication programme aimed at fostering the visibility and understanding of the European Union, its values and its activities in Türkiye.

On this website, we aim to give you information about the European Union as well as Türkiye’s EU accession process. Since our principal goal is to provide accessible, accurate and up-to-date information to the Turkish public, a significant portion of the website is in Turkish.

If you have any comments or suggestions on our website, please send them to the address below:

Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye: delegation-turkiye@eeas.europa.eu