<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Turkey's application to accede to the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union (EU), was made on 14 April 1987 . After the ten founding members, Turkey was one of the first countries to become a member of the Council of Europe in 1949 . The country has also been an associate member of the Western European Union from 1992 to its end in 2011 . Turkey signed a Customs Union agreement with the EU in 1995 and was officially recognised as a candidate for full membership on 12 December 1999, at the Helsinki summit of the European Council . </P> <P> Negotiations for full membership were started on 3 October 2005 . Progress was slow, and out of the 35 Chapters necessary to complete the accession process only 16 had been opened and one had been closed by May 2016 . The early 2016 refugee deal between Turkey and the European Union was intended to accelerate negotiations after previous stagnation and as allow visa - free travel through Europe for Turks . </P>

When did turkey became part of european union