Özet:

Turkey's relationship with Western Europe goes back to the end of the Ottoman era when reformist Sultans tried to modernize the empire. These relations developed during and after the Cold War that began with the ending of the World War II. In this context Turkey as a parliamentary democracy became part of the European security policy and a NATO member as well as other political and economic organizations such as OECD and the European Council. Turkey, in this way, exposed ijs desire to be a full member of the European Economic Community in 1959 and signed, as a first step, an agreement to establish an associate membership that aimed at becoming full integration after a certain time. Concluding the customs union agreement in this new era has a special meaning for both parties. Not only security needs but also economic and political aims will be achieved by Turkey and the European Union through this new partnership. The basic purpose of this article is to investigate how important an issue Turkey's Western integration is as well as Turkey's importance to the West in this new post Cold War era.