TurkeyTurkey (Türkiye, ˈtyɾcije), officially the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ˈtyɾcije dʒumˈhuːɾijeti), is a country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in West Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is off the south coast.
Economy of TurkeyTurkey is a founding member of the OECD and G20, and is classified among the E7 countries, EAGLEs and NICs. As of 2023, Turkey's economy is the 19th-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and the 11th-largest by PPP. According to the IMF, Turkey has an upper-middle income mixed-market emerging economy. The country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products, textiles, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, construction materials, consumer electronics and home appliances.
Copenhagen criteriaThe Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state has the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, has a functioning market economy, and accepts the obligations and intent of the European Union. These membership criteria were laid down at the June 1993 European Council in Copenhagen, Denmark, from which they take their name.
History of the Republic of TurkeyThe Republic of Turkey was created after the overthrow of Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1922 by the new Republican Parliament in 1923. This new regime delivered the coup de grâce to the Ottoman state which had been practically wiped away from the world stage following the First World War. The Ottoman Empire, consisting of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, was since its foundation in 1299, ruled as an absolute monarchy. Between 1839 and 1876 the Empire went through a period of reform.
European integrationEuropean integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integration has primarily come about through the European Union and its policies. In antiquity, the Roman Empire brought about integration of multiple European and Mediterranean territories. The numerous subsequent claims of succession of the Roman Empire, even the iterations of the Classical Empire and its ancient peoples, have occasionally been reinterpreted in the light of post-1950 European integration as providing inspiration and historical precedents.
2015 European migrant crisisDuring 2015, there was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe. 1.3 million people came to the continent to request asylum, the most in a single year since World War II. They were mostly Syrians, but also included significant numbers of Afghans, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Iraqis, Eritreans, and the Balkans. The increase in asylum seekers has been attributed to factors such as the escalation of various wars in the Middle East and ISIL's territorial and military dominance in the region, as well as the Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt ceasing to accept Syrian asylum seekers.
Western worldThe Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in the regions of Australasia, Europe, and the Americas. The Western world likewise is called the Occident () in contrast to the Eastern world known as the Orient (). The West is considered an evolving concept; made up of cultural, political, and economic synergy among diverse groups of people, and not a rigid region with fixed borders and members. Definitions for "Western world" vary according to context and perspectives.
Annan PlanThe Annan Plan, also known as the Cyprus reunification plan, was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute. The different parts of the proposal were based on the argumentation put forward by each party (Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots) in meetings held under the auspices of the UN. The proposal was to restructure the Republic of Cyprus to become the "United Republic of Cyprus" (Enoméne Kypriakí Dimokratía, Birleşik Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), a federation of two states.
Turkish CypriotsTurkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks (Kıbrıs Türkleri or Kıbrıslı Türkler; Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land once they arrived in Cyprus. Additionally, many of the island's local Christians converted to Islam during the early years of Ottoman rule. Nonetheless, the influx of mainly Muslim settlers to Cyprus continued intermittently until the end of the Ottoman period.
Enlargement of the European UnionThe European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement.
