The status of Turkey within the EU has been a matter of considerable academic and political debate over the past decades. Having formally requested membership in 1987, accession talks have been taking place for almost 25 years. With the creation of a Ministry for EU Affairs, Turkey has enhanced consultations in the past few years, and official negotiations with the EU started exactly five years ago. Although the European landscape is still divided over the question, Turkey aims for effective membership in the foreseeable future. Turkey’s Minister for European Union Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Ba