Turkey’s Ambivalent Allies in Central and Eastern Europe: Dynamics of Support for Turkey’s European Union Process

This article seeks to explain the differentiation among the political elites of the new European Union (EU) members from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in terms of their support to Turkey’s EU process. The article investigates elite opinions about Turkey’s full membership, continuation or suspension of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, as well as, the adjustment of the existing framework of Turkey-EU relations. In explaining such differentiation, one may discuss the impact of the strategic interests of these countries, their public opinion about the EU enlargement, as well as, the progression of their political and trade relations with Turkey. The article expects that especially Turkey’s bilateral relations with the CEE countries should have significant impact over the views concerning Turkey’s future in the EU