Star, Turkey
March 15 2005

Turkey’s Path to the European Union

Uluc Gurkan

Columnist Uluc Gurkan comments on Turkish-EU relations and Europe’s
doubts on Turkey’s prospective membership. A summary of his column is
as follows:

`The French are going to vote for the EU Constitution, but they are
arguing about Turkey instead. They seem to be unable to decide
whether approving the Constitution means accepting Turkey as a member
of the Union. Due to this uncertainty, the referendum question gets
thornier with each passing day.

This uncertainty also seems to bother France’s socialists, which have
publicly declared that approving the Constitution doesn’t mean
vetting Turkey’s EU membership.

The declaration implied that Turkey has to give up on Cyprus and
admit the Armenian `genocide’ claims.

The socialists don’t claim that Turkey’s EU membership is impossible.
Instead, they imply that Turkey will have to obey the impositions of
the long-forgotten Treaty of Sevres in order to join the Union.

When it comes to Turkey’s admission to the EU, there’s not much
difference between these socialists and the Christian democrats.
European Convention President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a Christian
democrat, still sees Turkey as just a neighbor to the EU.

This negative mood towards Turkey’s EU membership is not limited to
France. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn last week said that
Turkey’s path towards the EU will be `long, rocky and full of sharp
turns.’ Speaking at a Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s
Association (TUSIAD) meeting in Istanbul, Rehn told his listeners
that Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus in order to move on to
membership talks. `This is one of the preconditions set by the
commission,’ he said.

Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus, and what else? It’s obvious that
the EU is also trying to add the Armenian `genocide’ claims to its
list of preliminary terms. Another precondition is that Turkey must
implement `political reforms’ in its southeast. I wonder if his
audience asked what Rehn meant by `political reforms.’

We have come to this point by doing without question whatever the EU
asks us to do. But we can’t go on this way. We have to learn how to
negotiate with the EU, as well as with the rest of the world. Turkish
businessmen and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must join the
government in its efforts to carry out negotiations with the EU. We
need such a conscious campaign in our path towards the EU.’

March 15 2005