[3] The Agreement initiated a three-step process toward creating a customs union to help secure Turkey's full membership in the EEC.

[4] One part of the Agreement was to be financial assistance from the EEC to Turkey, including loans worth 175 million ECU during the period from 1963 to 1970.

[5] The Agreement sought the free circulation of workers, establishment and services, including virtually total harmonisation with EEC policies relating to the internal market.

However, it excluded Turkey from political positions and precluded its recourse to the European Court of Justice for dispute resolution to some extent.

[6] With the European Union replacing the EEC with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Ankara Agreement now governs relations between Turkey and the EU.