During the European Union summit on Thursday and Friday, European heads of state will decide whether or not to begin accession negotiations with Turkey. For 45 years, the country has been working towards admission into the 25-member European club.

September, 1959: Turkey applies for a membership in the European Economic Community (EEC).

September, 1963: An association agreement between the EEC and Turkey is signed in Ankara. Commission president Walter Hallstein underlines that Turkey is part of Europe and has good prospects of eventual membership.

September, 1980: Following a military putsch, the EEC association agreement is suspended until 1986.

April, 1987: Turkey hands over its request for full membership to the European Community.

December, 1989: The EEC commission rejects the application for admission because of the unstable political and economic situation of the country.

June, 1993: During a summit in Copenhagen, the European Union member states define the criteria that must be met to begin negotiations for potential new EU countries. A country that wants to join must demonstrate, among other things, the stability of its institutions, a commitment to democracy and the rule of law, and a functioning free-market economy, as well as progress on human rights and minority issues.

January, 1996: The tariff union between Turkey and the European Union goes into effect.

December, 1997: During its Luxembourg summit on eastern expansion, the European Union says that Turkey is eligible to apply for membership. The country, however, does not receive candidate status.

December, 1999: European Union heads of state grant Turkey the status of an entry candidate during their summit in Helsinki.

August, 2002: The Turkish parliament, making headway on comprehensive reforms, approves a package of 14 points including the abolishment of the death penalty in times of peace and permission for the Kurdish language to be used in schools and broadcasts.

November, 2002: After its election victory, Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) announces it will increasingly look to the west, and asks for an accelerated European Union entry.

December, 2002: At a summit in Copenhagen, the EU heads of state assign the European Commission to write a report, due in October 2004, on whether the EU should begin membership negotiations with Turkey. This week's decision will come largely on the basis of that report. If the vote is positive, negotiations are to be taken up "without further delays".

July, 2003: The Turkish parliament pushes through another reform package, which strictly limits the political influence of the armed forces.

September, 16, 2004: The Turkish parliament puts off adopting new criminal law reforms because of controversy over paragraphs relating to adultery. Then EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenther Verheugen makes the adoption of the reform a condition for the commencing of accession negotiations.

September, 23: During a meeting in Brussels, Erdogan assures Verheugen that the criminal law reforms, minus the adultery paragraph, will be adopted. Verheugen gives a firm response that he see "no further obstacles" to beginning admission negotiations.

September, 26: The parliament in Ankara approves the criminal law reforms.