Turkeys Membership in the European Union - Essay Example

Introduction The proposed accession of Turkey to the EU has been a very controversial one, which has created a rift even between the members of the European Council. Turkey first applied for the European Economic Community in the year 1959 and signed an agreement with the republic of Turkey and the European Economic council. This agreement came into effect only on December 12, 1964. The Turkish inclusion has, since then been taking constant turns and twists. Turkey, geographically speaking, is large and has a foot in both, Europe and Asia. Many feel that the accession of the EU would bring in geo-political advantages to the Union. Were it admitted to the EU, Turkey would be the most populated country and the first to be predominantly Muslim. Though its accession would have little effect on the European Commission, it would dramatically affect the European Council. Despite these many positives, some negatives make many weary about Turkey's inclusion. Agriculture is a major concern of EU policy. As Turkey's inclusion would affect voting power, Turkish concerns could change the common agriculture policy. Also, the European Union allows free movements of citizens among member nations. "A free flow of [Turkish] immigrants could destabilize labor markets around Europe. Though many of the members today feel that the presence of the Turkey would definitely create an impact on the growth of the European Economy, an equal number of the members feel that Turkey cannot be included into the EU as it is not geographically apt to be called 'European'. Its accession talks have since been delayed by a number of domestic and external problems. Several European countries such as Austria have shown their reluctance to allow Turkey into Europe. The issue of Cyprus continues to be a major obstacle to negotiations. European officials have commented on the slowdown in Turkish reforms which, combined with the Cyprus problem, has led the EU's enlargement commissioner to warn of a crash in the negotations with Turkey. Despite these setbacks, Turkey had closed its first phase in negotiations in June 2006. Based on what it views as lukewarm support for its accession to the EU and alleged double standards in its negotiations. France and Austria have indicated they will hold referundums on Turkey's membership), the Turkish public has become increasingly euroskeptic in recent times. Arguments favoring Turkey's membership in the European Union Economy An important in the favor of Turkey's inclusion is the rapid economical growth it has been achieving in the last 4 years. Although the current GNP per capita is still lower than all of the other new EU-countries, the current economic growth rate suggests that in a few years, Turkey will have overtaken Poland and Romania. In addition, Turkey has a young population. That, combined with the size of the country, and its growth rates, constitutes a major dynamism and a good opportunity for the EU. (Barry.M.Rubin, 2003) Relationship with the NATO Atlancist countries outside Turkey have always felt the inclusion of Turkey into the European Union would help counteract France's completely oblivious stand against the US. In countries like France, Netherlands and Germany, this is viewed as a point working against the country. Turkey is a strong regional military power which could give the EU more military capabilities. The Turkish Armed Forces are the second largest standing armed force in NATO after the United States Armed Forces, and they are the strongest in the Muslim world. Many countries in the west believe that the inclusion of the country in the EU would cement its alignment with the west. Many people in Turkey also believe that the Turkish inclusion could actually result in less military influence in the country and more stable Government. It could also improve in sustaining the economy. The Energy resources Turkey has now become the Energy hub of the continent. Direct piping between Russia and Iran carries natural gas to Turkey, which is planned to be distributed to the West. The Trans-Anatolia pipeline will carry Central Asian and Russian oil to the Mediterranean, and the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan and Iraqi pipelines currently carry Azeri and Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean. Those strategic pipelines may facilitate Turkish accession to the EU, many observers say. Religious A prevalent point of view from Ankara as well as members of the EU is that the EU can be called a "Christian club," and there are suspicions of allowing such a large Muslim country to join. However, the foundation of the European Union was never claimed to be on religious grounds, so this argument is something that seems to trouble the general population rather than specific politicians or experts. The Turks consider their state and their constitution a strongly secular one just as the EU defines itself. Demographic Turkey's overwhelmingly Muslim population would lend considerable weight to EU multi-culturalism efforts and might help to prevent potential scenarios involving a clash of civuilizations. At the same time, Turkey's young (23% of population is under 15) population might act as a balance for the increasingly aging populations of the current EU. Political The promise of EU membership, is considered by supporters to be a key incentive for deepening democracy in Turkey (as it has been in other applicant countries. This implies that membership should be conditional to the extent that the conditions are fufilled by Turkey then the EU has an obligation to grant full membership. Literature Review EU and Turkey- Challenges and opportunities in the enlargement and foreign policy The enlargement of the membership in EU is so far the largest and the most substantial one that has been influenced mailnly by the internal structure and the main policies in the union. The union is expected to have a membership of around 27 by the end of the year 2007. With this context, the membership of Turkey still hangs in balance atleast for the period of next 10-15 years. As discussed above, it is indeed a multi-faceted challenge for the EU because accession of Turkey involves gaps in in economic, development and cultural differences in the bodies, related to the size and population of Turkey. It was only recently that a decision was taken to hold open accession talks with the Government in Turkey. Immediately after this development, a major member of the union, France declared that it would hold a referundum before Turkey's possible inclusion. In Austria, almost all the political camps oppose the inclusion of Turkey to the EU. Opponents in the council reject the proposal for the accession of Turkey on political, cultural and economic grounds. As discussed above, the relations with Turkey date back to almost 1959 when an application was put forward and Helsinki Council approved Turkey to me a canditate country. Finally, a decision tom open the negotiation on several grounds was opened in the year 2004. The EU has displayed a strong will to integrate Turkey and Turkey had clearly reciprocated in the same way by the extensive reforms it has carried out to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. In the case of Turkey, it may be viewed as a clear concurrence and foreign policy objectives of the EU, especially considering the wide zone of stability, democracy and the prosperity that EU essentially stands for. (Thomas. Deitz, 2006) The EU policy towards Turkey, is thus extremely vital regarding the determination of borders of the EU. Many nations view Turkey as a sort of gateway to Europe for reaching Europe. Turkey lies in the zone between the future members and the forever neighbours of the EU. A few countries which are already members and enjoy good relations with the EU, believe that Turkey should be given a 'close' associate status rather than a full member status of the EU. Whether or not EU takes in the borders of Turkey into consideration of its geographical scope speaks volumes of the Identity of the council and itsa member nations. Turkey's inclusion is a very complicated aspect in the process of enlargement of the EU. The methodoly of negotiations, for which a proper framework has to be evelved, a few chapters which cite major differences especially in the fields of agriculture, free movement of workers and structural funds are all the important determinants in the whole enlargement policy of the EU. Also, the country's adaptation to the rules of EU is a critical factor in the whole enlargement process of the EU. Turkey's inclusion is in turn not toatally independent of regional and global development such as the US intervention in Iraq. It should be noted that the Iraq, being a stauch NATO and a US ally, has always been supportive of the US policies. At this juncture, when members of the EU feel that the council's decisions and strategies should be far from the influence of the US, the inclusion of Turkey, could send out wrong signals to the world. (Barry. M. Rubin, 2003) Implications of Turkey's inclusion to the EU's foreign reforms and int erms of the enlargement policy Turkey's accession to the EU will enable balance of power among the member states and the , the mail policies of EU such as the Agriulture, structural policy and mailny, and basic identity formation process within the union. For the first time in history, EU will receive a member with predominantly Muslim polpulation. This fact makes the existing members a little apprehensive and has also been seen as a major stuumbling block in the accession. The inclusion of Turkey means addition of 70 million Muslims to the already existing 15 million. This fact's causing concern among many nations who feel that this will cause problems to the identification of cultural understanding of the union whose identity is based on the values and symbols of Christianity. Turkey is seen as many nations as a major threat to the European identity, values and way of life. It is also possible to discernt that the historical and cultural notions of 'otherness' that serve to distingush the 'European' from the non-European' unlines the present attitude of Turkey. While Turkey's membership is being discussed with respect to cultural and religious factors, an important issue that needs to be emhasized on is that Turkey is a secular country which implies that there is a clear cut distinction between religious and state affairs. However, it is a clearly observed fact that in Turkey, not only is there a clear distiction between the state and the religious affairs, but the religion is in control of the state. The inclusion of Turkey as a predominantly secular nation would constitute one of the major global problems plaguing many of our nations at the end of the 21 st century: Islam can co-exist with democracy and secularism. This is a strong message that the European Union can pass on, not just to the sizeable minority population existing in its countries, but also globally. This would indirectly help in garnering the support of many Asian Muslim nations around the world. This would have a great impact on the economy of the EU. It is a well-known fact that many of the Asian Muslim nations have control of oil, one of the major resources, controlling the economy of the world today. (Marise Cremona, 2003) Despite the possibilty of reconciliation with diversity, it is an inevitable fact that both EU and Turkey are going to face adaptation and implementation problems. Turkey's sizeable agricultural sector, unemployment, regional disparities, social and economic problems will further complicate Turkey's adaptation to EU and reduce the absorption of Turkey in the EU. It should be mentioned that the EU has its intentions clear in this regard. Turkey will be included in the EU only after many rounds of successful negotiations on various issues. This process would take a very long time, possibly 10 to 15 years. By then Turkey would have completed its alignment of the legal system with the policies desired by the European Union. (Anneli Albi, 2003) The political and security aspects of Turkey's integration constitute a critical area of investigation. Being a NATO member, it can be definitely said that it is a part of the European security architecture. The creation of ESDP and the usage of assets of the NATO by the EU have created enormous differences between the EU and Turkey. The membership of Cyprus without a successful settlement of the division of the island was resolved by a declaration annexed to the presidency conclusions of the December 2002 Copenhagen European council, suspending the Cyprus and Malta in the EU military operations from the usage of the NATO funds. Turkey may act as a key strategic partner and a member state in important military or civilian operations that the EU may like to make use of, in the future. In this sense, the geographic location of Turkey near to Balkans, caususses and the mediterranian and the middle-east may prove out to be an asset for ESDP, than a liability. The fact that the Turkish nod for the Annan plan for the settlement of the Cyprus problem was an indication that the country had radically transformed its stand on the foreign relations aspect. TGNA's rejection for the usage of the Turkish land for US military operations also indicates this. This move, not only did stun many foreign observers around the world, but also a clear indication that the country was now more inclined to Europeanization of the foreign policies. (A.J. Askam, 2005) The EU has been taking constant notice of all these developments. According to the general environment in the EU, many members feel that the foreign policy of EU should open up by further moves, such as opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. The fact that Turkey has a really tough neighbourhood is also a cause of concern for many members in the EU. Since Turkey shares its borders with troubled nations like Syria, Iran, Iraq, the probable membership of Turkey will extend the boundaries of the Europian Union to the middle-east which is percieved to be a cause of concern by many nations in the union, who consider this move to be a strategic viulnerability. It may also lead to an extension to the geographic lead of the EU, an Atlantic project extending from the Atlantic to the middle-east. Thus, Turkey's membership may foster the 'glabal'ness of the EU by not only contributing to the size and scope of the organization, but also to the multi-cultural identity of Europe. (Tocci, 2006) Conclusion The bottom line is that Turkey has made "sweeping political reforms" over the past few years to meet the political criteria for a limited recommendation. President Bush recently praised Turkey for "the example they have set on how to be a Muslim country that embraces democracy and rule of law and freedom." The European Commission's recommendations for Turkey have found that the country "has substantially progressed in its political reform process." However, the Commission's report also found that the "legislation and implementation needs to be further consolidated and broadened." Taking into account the present situation, where in the chancellor of Germany is presently the president of the EU; accession of Turkey to the EU is practically not possible as the chancellor was the person who propagated non-inclusion of Turkey. Accession of Turkey, most importantly, could prove that Islam and democracy can work. Joost Lagendijk of the Turkey Delegation to the European Parliament says the "strategic argument for [Turkey in the EU is that it would] prove wrong those in the east and west that there is an unbridgeable gap between the Islamic world and the West." "But," he conceded, "Turkey is not a model for democracy in the Middle East. It is too different. It is more a model for central Asian countries, but there is still high symbolism in it." Zeyno Baran argues, "Turkey can work to defeat radical Islam." Turkey's strong military would also be a tremendous asset to a common security force in the region. This is why experts predict radical Islam will be against the move. (Mehmet Ugur, 2003) Turkey also has a dynamic economy. Though small in dimension, it has a high growth rate (higher than any other EU country). Zeyno Baran of the Nixon Center argues that Turkey could be "an engine for economic growth." Another factor that helps the argument for Turkey's inclusion is that it has rich reserves of oil. Baran points out how "many are concerned about Russia's control over gas and thus European countries." Turkey's inclusion could solve many of Europe's energy problems and help to stabilize its economy. Hence, with these factors taken into consideration, there are equal number of pros and cons for the inclusion, but it is an inevitable fact that Turkey's inclusion could actually boost trade and also help the European Union adds another dimension to their heritage. It would in fact send out signals to the external world that Islam can co-exist with Democracy and would actually bridge the existing long gap between the west and the Asian countries, especially the Middle East. RESOURCES 1) Thomas Dietz(2002), EU and the Cyprus conflict, Manchester University Press. 2) Mehmet Ugur (2001), Turkey and the European Integration, Rutledge 3) Harun Arikan (2006), Turkey and the EU, Ash gate Publishing 4) Barry.M.Rubin (2005), Turkey and the world politics. 5) A.J.Askam (2005), Turkey in the EU, CABI Publishing 6) Tocci (2006), EU accession dynamics and conflict resolution, Ash gate Publishing 7) Philip Robins (2003), Turkish Foreign Policy, C.Hust & Co. Publishing. 8) Marise Cremona (2003), Enlargement of EU, Oxford University Press 9) Barry. M.Rubin (2003), Turkey and the European Union, Rout Ledge 10) Anneli Albi (2003), EU enlargement, Cambridge University Press. Read More