Consequences of the Europe’s migration openness: the example of Turkey

Ahmet Icduygu, Koc University

As the most recent documentations from the European Union indicate that the start of accession negotiations with Turkey is highly likely to take place in 2005, Turkey-related migration issues have gained importance on the agenda of the EU-Turkey relations. It is within this context that my intervention here briefly elaborates the types, magnitude and determinants of migration from Turkey to Europe, and tries to relate the history of this movement to the prospect of the migration trends. It has been now more than 40 years since the start of large-scale emigration from Turkey to Europe. In that time many changes have taken place in these migratory flows, and the relationship between the European Union and Turkey is quite different from what it was 20 or 30 years ago. There is no doubt that some parts of these changes have been associated with the long established emigratory flows from the country to Europe.