Turkey and the EU
Progress Toward Accession
Turkey is the only pluralist secular democracy in the Muslim world and has always attached great importance to developing its relations with other European countries. Historically, Turkish culture has had a profound impact over much of Eastern and Southern Europe. Turkey began "westernizing" its economic, political, and social structures in the nineteenth century. Following the First World War and the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, it chose Western Europe as the model for its new secular structure. Turkey has ever since closely aligned itself with the West and has become a founding member of the United Nations, a member…
