The Mesopotamian Euro-Region

The European Union (EU) has expanded the functional impact area of the Europeanization concept in recent years and now aims to create administrative areas based on its own political and economic values in regions outside EU member and candidate states. Meanwhile, regionalization and cross-border collaborative efforts are also considered important by the Union. This study proposes a notable cross-border cooperation project, where the expected benefits of the two strategies mentioned above intersect: a Euro-region project to be established between the Southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey and the Northern region of Iraq. The realization of such a project has become more likely recently as a result of the changes that have occurred in Southeastern Anatolia and Northern Iraq and will generate multifaceted benefits for the region, the relevant states, and the EU.