Turkey has a long way to go

Mideast Mirror
December 23, 2004

Despite agreement on a date to begin accession talks, Turkey faces a
hard road on the way to full EU membership, says Saba’ Bahbiri
in al-Watan

Turkey has finally succeeded in persuading the European Union to give
it the chance to begin accession talks, writes Saudi commentator
Saba’ Bahbiri in the Saudi daily al-Watan.

CONSIDERABLE CONCESSIONS: But the Turks realize that they still have
a long way to go before they are accepted as full EU members; even
more optimistic Europeans say that it might take Turkey 15 years to
fulfill conditions for membership.
This is in spite of the considerable concessions Ankara has already
made, such as the major changes it introduced to its laws and the
many rights it gave to its (mainly Kurdish) minorities that it used
to see as detrimental to its national security.
After a successful visit to Paris last summer (during which he signed
a deal to purchase 36 Airbus planes), Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan managed to reduce French opposition to Turkish
membership. Erdogan also promised France that his country will
consider buying French technology for nuclear power stations. Erdogan
thus won over one of the most vehement opponents of Turkish EU
membership.
Austria is another European country bitterly opposed to Turkish
accession. The Austrians cannot forget the fact that it was they who
defeated the Ottoman army at the gates of Vienna more than 300 years
ago and thus saved the entire European continent from being overrun.
Although there is some support for Turkish EU membership among
mainstream Austrian politicians, the opposition maintains that the
Turks have never demonstrated their affinity to Europe and that even
Turks born in Austria have stubbornly clung to their Muslim identity
and never made the effort to integrate into Austrian society. Worse,
they insist, the Turks have exploited Europe’s tolerance and freedom
in order to spread Islam in the continent.
Opponents of Turkish membership in Austria and other European
countries have been urging their parliamentary representatives to
raise the issues of human rights in Turkey (especially concerning
Ankara’s treatment of its Kurdish and Armenian minorities) and the
possibility that Turkey would become a source of illegal migration
from Asia and the Middle East to the EU-which might even include
Muslim terrorists.
Germany, which enjoys historical ties with Turkey (the two nations
were allies in two world wars, which they lost), and which plays host
to a large Turkish community, while supporting Ankara’s bid to join
the EU (hoping that that would strengthen its hand against other
countries such as France) still cannot hide its apprehension.
With its 70 million inhabitants, Turkey would immediately become the
largest EU country, with voting rights to match. The number of
European Muslims would multiply overnight, which will have profound
effects on educational and social policies throughout the EU. Italy
and Spain in particular are worried that Europe’s Christian identity
might be diluted if Ankara was admitted to the EU.
In exchange, the Turks have been trying to entice the Europeans with
the potential material benefits they might gain if they accept Ankara
as a full EU member. Europe would also be able to benefit from
Turkey’s excellent ties with the Muslim world. With its proximity to
central Asia, Turkey can act as a conduit for European exports to the
burgeoning markets of the region. Thanks to its ample natural
resources and skilled labor force, Turkey is an ideal destination for
investors keen to establish bases from which to compete with cheap
Asian manufacturers.
The Turks have been trying to reassure Europe of their seriousness in
becoming true Europeans. They have radically altered their judicial
code, bringing it more into line with European laws (in spite of the
potential negative fallout this might have on the political parties
which instigated such changes), and greatly restricted the role
traditionally played by the Turkish military in political affairs.
The media has been given more freedoms, and the Turkish government
succeeded in gaining control of the country’s large budget deficit
and in keeping inflation below ten percent.
But all this has had little effect in reassuring ordinary Europeans
whose point of view was recently expressed by Austrian minister Franz
Fischler: ‘Turkey is oriental in culture and Asiatic in location. Its
entry into Europe might well detriment the direction of European
strategy.’ The fact that part of Turkey lies in Europe is neither
here nor there.
In an opinion poll recently conducted by Time/CNN, 56 percent of
French people expressed opposition to Turkish entry while in Holland
the figure was 41 percent, in Germany 46 percent and in Britain 52
percent. A Dutch MP spoke for the opposition camp when he said: ‘It
cannot happen. Turkey is a Muslim country that has no place in
Europe. I would prefer countries like Canada and Australia joining,
but not Turkey.’
Among the more vehement opponents of Turkish EU membership is Italian
writer Orianna Fallaci. In a recent book The Power of Reason, Fallaci
calls for restricting and reducing the Muslim presence in Europe.
‘Europe,’ she writes, ‘is no longer Europe, but Eurabia.’ The
intricate social fabric of the old continent has been altered such
that Europe has become a Muslim colony.
Such opinions have been steadily gaining ground in Italy, which has
borne the brunt of illegal Muslim migration mainly from North Africa
and Albania.
Responding to such extreme positions, Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul says: ‘We are only talking about starting talks. These
talks will take a long time, perhaps years. We are realists and
accept that fact.’ Determination and reassurance in equal measure.
Turkey has been trying to gain entry into Europe for more than forty
years, and has been rebuffed several times. The latest breakthrough
does not mean that Turkish membership of the EU is guaranteed by any
means. Turkey still has a long and uncertain road to travel.

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