European Union Policy: Turkey - Case Study Example

Running Head: European Union.... Topic: European union policy Order#: 377392 Topic: European union policy Profile of Turkey-history, geography and population: “Area: Approx 780,000 sq km (300,000 sq miles) Population: 71.9m (July 2008 est) Capital city: Ankara People: Majority Turks. Minorities recognised under the Turkish Constitution: Jews, Armenians and Greeks. Other ethnic peoples include Kurds, Circassians and Bosnians. Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish Religion: Muslim Currency: Turkish Lira (TL) Government: Parliamentary republic. Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, NATO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an Associate Member of the Western European Union, and a candidate for accession to the European Union (negotiations began on 3 October 2005).”(Country....) The population of Turkey as per World Bank Indicators, as per last updated data on February 2,2010 was 73,914,260.(www.google.com/publicdata) The major events relating to history of Turkey in chronological order are: “BC 7500, First Stone age settlements at Çatalhüyük,1250 The Trojan war and the fall of Troy, 546 Cyrus the Great leads the Persians into Anatolia, 334 Alexander the Great drives out the Persians. AD 47-57 St. Paul spreads Christianity and a community at Antioch is established, 638-718 Muslim Arabs besiege Constantinople,1453 The fall of Constantinople - the birth of Istanbul,1854 Crimean war,1914 Turkey allies with Germany in the first world war,1923 Foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, 1938 Ataturk dies in Istanbuls Dolmabahce palace,1946 Charter membership of the UN, 1952 Turkey joins NATO,1960 Military coup, successive governments ineffective, 1964 Associate member status of EU,1974 Cyprus crisis,1980 Kanan Evren leads military coup. 3 years of military government,1983 Turgut Ozal elected prime Minister, 1985-90 Full EU membership for Turkey impeded by Cypriot issue and questions over human rights record,1991-93 Suleyman Demirel elected Prime Minister, inflation at 70%,1993-96, Demirel President, Tansu Ciller Prime Minister, Turkey joins EU Customs Union.1997-98 5 attempts at forming coalition governments, Islamic Welfare party disbanded, reforms as Virtue and is the largest single party in parliament. Military intervenes to prevent Islamicists forming governments. 75th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic (and 15th of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) celebrated.” (Turkeys....) Background Report: The EU Membership Process: The after-shocks of two devastating world wars had a telling effect on the continent of Europe. As peace dawned, efforts for economic consolidation began to take shape. French Foreign Minister Robert Schumann initiated a plan for the formation of a European Coal and Steel Community to unite the countries. The six original member countries, after an years deliberations, signed the Treaty of Paris to establish the European entity. The countries were, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy. The unity efforts progressed and by the end of 2008 the European Union consisted 27 Nations. This union was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993. It has three wings, legislative, executive and judicial. The Council is the main decision-making body. Leadership of the Council rotates every six months through the member nations. Membership is open to any country with total commitment to democracy and human rights. The process is lengthy, that involves many steps and procedures. At present three countries,Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia(the former Yugoslav Republic)are vying for membership and their application is under consideration. The procedure is methodical. By establishing relationship with the European Union, the country will send the application for membership to the European Council for evaluation. Unanimous approval of the Council is necessary for the process of further negotiations. The negotiations begins as per the terms and conditions set out in the 1993 Copenhagen agreement. Democracy is the watchword and it demands stable institutions, that are conducive to healthy functioning of democracy, human rights, a viable market economy and the capacity of the Nation to abide by the policies of the European Union. The Commission screens the suitability of the country in the light of 35”chapters” like food safety, agriculture, energy and transport policies, foreign and security policies etc. Before the negotiations begin, the country may be asked to fulfill certain benchmarks, and the procedure varies depending on the merit of the applying country. The country must indicate a time-line for the implementation of the EU policies and processes. “When all negotiations are complete to the unanimous satisfaction of the member countries, a Draft Accession Treaty is compiled and submitted to the Council, Commission, Parliament and member countries for approval. The treaty goes into effect upon the ratification of the candidate country.”(Background....) Level of preparation for Union membership: This depends on EUs enlargement policy to some extent. The attitude of EU in this regard is responsive and the strategy is reactive. No grand design is evident on the part of the existing members, but it is an issue related to procedures laid down. The pressure from the countries wishing to join is also an influencing factor. With the admittance of a new member , the situation becomes more complex, as it affects the composition and identity of the EU. The initial phase of expansion between 2004-2007, was a smooth-sailing. In the present round, in which Turkey is involved, the prospects are different. But it is hoped that EU will continue to pursue its expansion in a rational way. On all fronts, one sees an expanding EU. Its official languages have increased from four to 23. This speaks about the imaginative and forward-looking European method of integration and its capacity to overcome the institutional and constitutional impediments. At present there are seven applicants whose membership is under consideration, and that of Turkey is pending since 1987. In the process of preparation, yet another problem exists for the candidate country. Though the topic of enlargement is often mentioned in the meetings of EU, it does not have a plan cut-out for the purpose in view. It does not extend invitation to any country to join; rather it discourages fresh applications and its policy in this regard is reactive and not pro-active. Its policy is not expansionist. Some of the countries admitted, have arrived through pressure. The thinking of some member countries about forming the United States of Europe is too far-fetched. The expansion process hinders the aim of closer union—this is the viewpoint of some of the members who are now safe within the compass of EU. What Criteria for Evaluation? The EU as well as the candidate country face the acid tests while dealing with the question of admittance of new members. The integration of the new members needs to be harmonious one. It should not disturb the equilibrium, the overall balance within the existing set up of EU and the functioning of EUs institutions and policies and the satisfactory continuation of the EUs growth. The enlargement is an ongoing process. EU is now handling the cases of prospective members. In this context, the situation and prospectus of the candidature of Turkey is entirely different. This is the most toughest one the EU has ever faced and it is still under consideration. It is the biggest country to apply for membership and some member states have serious reservations about its candidature being ever accepted. Cyprus question is the main cause of dispute and puts a mark on the candidature of Turkey. The accession negotiations began in 2005 and it still continues. Many members put forth the argument—granted Turkey will not be the member of EU and yet its modernisation and Europeanisation is in the common interest of EU. The level of preparation for EU membership needs to viewed from both the angles. The question does not pertain to the merit of the candidate of Turkey and its completing the procedural aspects. Enlargement policy, at present, finds resistance from within. The phenomenon of enlargement fatigue is often mentioned. It is true, with the admittance of each new member absorption shocks can be expected. Each country brings its own problems and solutions, often that impacts the viewpoints and objectives of the existing members. But the art of gamesmanship is in working together for a common cause for which the EU has been established. EU has been functioning for the last 5 years with challenging major problems. The relocation of jobs for new member states came to the surface, but these are mainly economic difficulties. These problems can be traced to the impact of internet revolution, the changing pattern of foreign competition due to globalisation. From the political angle, the problems of EU as for expansion of membership seem to be prudent. The ratification of the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty did tender some difficulties. The present global situation and macroeconomic position does not provide a positive climate for enlargement. The time of economic growth is favorable for the admittance for the new members. Between 1995-2007 the EU more than doubled the number of members and such rapid pace of expansion may not come forth again. But expansion, even that of the so-called problematic candidates, has to continue, to serve the overall objectives of forming the EU. The speed of the process alone is not important, but the continuance of the process is! As for Turkey, the basic objective is to continue with the accession negotiations, notwithstanding the problems related to Cyprus. Since,1963 Turkey is an associate member of EC, but its efforts to become a full-fledged member have been met with strong resistance from time to time. Most EC members took the stand against Turkeys admission for a number of economic, social and political reasons. The issues were many-fold. Firstly, the underdevelopment of Turkeys economy as compared to other EC/EU members. Secondly its high population growth. Too many Turkish workers were not wanted by the European community as their cultural integration was not easy. In Western Europe, since 1990, an anti-immigrant feeling, especially against the Muslim workers from Turkeys persists. This prejudice, blocked the chances of Turkey for membership candidate. “The political obstacles to EU membership concern Turkeys domestic and foreign policies. Because the European body prides itself on being an association of democracies, the 1980 military coup--in a country enjoying associate status--was a severe shock. The harshness of repression under the military regime further disturbed the EC--many EC leaders knew personally the former Turkish leaders whom the military put on trial for treason.”( Turkey-European....) The EC had to respond. It froze relations with Turkey and suspended economic aid. The Council of Europe also expelled Turkey from its parliamentary body. When civilian rule was restored, EC expressed its willingness to resume dialogue in 1985 and followed it by restoring the economic aid. But Turkey continued to be under the shadow of military takeover, a concern shared by many Turkish politicians. Democracy has yet to take firm roots in Turkey. The human rights issue continues to cause great concern. EU members expressed reservations about Turkeys human rights record. Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch, two human rights monitoring organizations supported by the EU, found serious lapses on this count. Arbitrary arrests, torture in prisons, censorship, disappearances, extrajudicial killings were common. Destruction of entire villages was reported. Coup rumors were often heard. Uniform standards to protect citizen rights was not in place. As for foreign policy, an insurmountable obstacle exists between Turnkey and EU member Greece. This issue, the dispute over the island of Cyprus, remains unsolved since 1974.“Following the November 1983 declaration of independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus--a government recognized only by Turkey in early 1995--Greece persuaded fellow EU members that progress on settling the dispute over Cyprus should be a prerequisite to accepting Turkey as a full member.”(Turkey-European....) Turkeys dispute with Greece over territorial rights and interests in the Aegean Sea is an anathema, a serious issue that blocks the efforts of the former for admittance to EU. “The EU symbolically opened membership talks with Turkey in October 2005, but a number of stumbling blocks remain on Ankaras road to EU accession, in particular concerning trade links with Cyprus, freedom of expression and the rights of the Kurdish minority.” (EU-Turkey....)Turkey has taken several positive steps to meet the Copenhagen political criteria for EU membership and the parliament has adopted over 30 amendments to the constitution. Sweeping reforms have been initiated to meet the human rights criteria. It has signed a protocol banning death penalty in all circumstances. On 12 June 2006, EU began concrete accession negotiations with Turkey and the negotiating framework specifies 35 chapters. Main sources of wealth and impact that Turkey will have both on candidate country: Even without the EU membership, Germany is the most important economic and commercial partner of Turkey. The volume of bilateral trade has doubled in the past ten years. 14% of Turkeys exports reach Germany and 17% of Germans total exports go to Turkey. 1100 German companies operate in Turkey. 3 million German tourists visit Turkey each year. Of the 2.5 million Turks living in Germany, 600,000 have become German citizens. The leadership of Turkey is confident of becoming one of the top economies of the world, without getting the membership of EU. In ten years, Turkey has moved to the 16th largest economy in the world from the 27th position. The companies from France too are the biggest investors in Turkey. The United Kingdom, is the strong supporter of Turkey for EU membership. It is Turkeys third largest destination and sixth-largest area of imports. Turkey has the strategic energy role in the area. It is ranked internationally in the low to medium income group. The richest 20 percent of the population control 47.7 percent of the wealth, while the poorest 20 percent controlled only 5.8 percent. That was the position in 1994. The per capita GDP US$ was 3,167 in 1998 as compared to 12,069 of Greece and 29,683 of USA. On the negative side,Turkey is one of the important narcotic centers of the world. Violence related to drug smuggling and transport of drug trucks, is commonplace in Turkey. Though not a rich country, it has abundant hydro power potential which can be used for generation of electricity. “Turkeys most important minerals are chromite, bauxite, and copper. The country also exploits deposits of other minerals such as iron, manganese, lead, zinc, antimony, asbestos, pyrites, sulfur, mercury, and manganese. Mining contributed slightly under 2 percent of GDP in 1992, but the sub-sector provides the raw material for such key manufacturing industries as iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and fertilizers.”(Turkey Mineral....) In fine, the candidate of Turkey is a test case for EU. The complications and the procedural wrangles are so much, it can be safely said, that if Turkey is admitted to the EU membership, any other country can be admitted! ************ References: Background Report: The EU Membership Process... Retrieved on February 11,2010 Country Profile: Turkey Overview of countrys geography, history,..... Retrieved on February 11,2010 EU-Turkey relations | EurActiv.... www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/eu-turkey.../article-129678 - Cached – Retrieved on February 11,2010 Turkey - European Union In terms of foreign policy.... – Retrieved on February 11,2010 Turkeys history – Retrieved on February 11,2010 Turkey Mineral Resources - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate ... www.photius.com/.../turkey/.../turkey_economy_mineral_resources.html - Cached – Retrieved on February 11,2010 Read More