A passage selected from the speech of Olli Rehn, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, at the Conference on EC Turkey Association Agreement on 4 November 2008.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me first thank Ms. Emine Bozkurt MEP, the European Parliament, IKV and the Consultative Council of Turkish Migrants in Holland for taking the initiative to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Ankara agreement.
The importance of the 1963 Association Agreement for EU-Turkey relations is sometimes forgotten. Yet it is the basis of our long-standing close relationship. It provides the origins of our deepening economic, political and institutional relations for the last 45 years.
The aim of the 1963 Association Agreement was to improve living conditions in Turkey and the then European Economic Community through economic cooperation and trade. It has also, since the beginning, been part of a broader political project, namely Turkey's integration into Europe with the prospect of accession clearly mentioned.
Then Commission President Walter Hallstein was very clear when, on the occasion of the signature in Ankara, he stated that "Turkey is a part of Europe".
Since then, we have moved a long way forward. The Ankara Agreement opened the way to the establishment of the Customs Union in 1995, the deepest economic and trade relationship that the EU has ever had with any third country. The vision of Dr Hallstein of opening our doors to Turkey in the European Union has moved closer to becoming reality, with the opening of accession negotiations in October 2005.
I will come back to accession negotiations in a moment. ….