Ankara Agreement - The Agreement

The Agreement

The Ankara Agreement was signed on September 12, 1963 at Ankara. The Agreement initiated a three-step process toward creating a Customs Union which would help secure Turkey's full membership in the EEC. Upon creation, the Customs Union would begin the integration of economic and trade policy that the EEC saw as necessary.

An Association Council set up by the Agreement controls its development and gives the Agreement detailed effect by making Decisions.

In 1970, Turkey and the EEC agreed an Additional Protocol to the Agreement.

One part of the Agreement was to be financial assistance from the EEC to Turkey, including loans worth 175 million ECU during the period from 1963-1970. The results were mixed; EEC trade concessions to Turkey in the form of tariff quotas proved less effective than hoped, although the EEC's share in Turkish imports rose substantially during the period.

The Agreement sought the free circulation of workers, establishment and services, including virtually total harmonisation with EEC policies relating to the internal market. However it excluded Turkey from political positions and precluded its recourse to the European Court of Justice for dispute resolution to some extent.