Öz
Turkey’s half-century-long membership initiatives to the European Union (EU) is a long and controversial process. This process gained new momentum in 1999, and the EU initiated many different negotiation chapters, where Turkey’s progress in the membership process and its efforts to cohering with the union were/are being monitored closely. One of the noticeable achievements of Turkey in this process is undoubtedly the social development thanks to its determination and efforts to transform its social policy legislation and practices to keep up the EU. In addition to the other conditions required for full membership, all countries in the membership process are expected to adapt their social policy legislation and practices to union practices and acquis. Accordingly, Turkey has modified or revised most of its employment and social legislation. Ultimately, the present study discusses Turkey’s efforts to cohere the leading indicators and regulations in social policy, labor law, occupational health and safety, social dialogue, social protection, union rights and freedoms, employment strategies, and combating gender discrimination to EU and offers policy recommendations for further development and cohesion. The acquis comparison may lead us to assert that the full membership process of Turkey has substantial contributions to the generation of laws with social issues and that such contributions have been realized at rather unprecedented levels in the degree of social protection to individuals by laws and the expansion of the scope of the laws.