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Turkey's European Union (EU) candidacy process, unlike other candidate countries, is a unique case in terms of the length of the process and the tensions experienced in the process. With the start of membership negotiations in 2005 and the increase in Turkey's obligations in the process, disruptions began to emerge and the anticipated progress could not be achieved. In this period, the EU's view of Turkey began to transform. It emerged as a reflection of this view with the privileged partnership proposals put forward in the mid-2000s. This study discusses how Turkey–EU relations have been shaped since 2005 when Turkey started membership negotiations and how the EU positions Turkey in light of current developments. In this context, the Strategic Compass document, which is aimed to shape the next 10 years of the EU, has been examined and focused on how Turkey is handled in the document. In the study, it has been revealed that the EU does not consider Turkey as a candidate country, but with a functionalist approach, depending on certain preconditions, as a partner with which it can make progress in areas of common interest.