TALKS ON TURKISH EU MEMBERSHIP FACE NEW HURDLES
By Eva Cahen
CNSNews.com Correspondent

CNSNews.com, VA
Sept 29 2005

Paris (CNSNews.com) – Just days before the European Union is due to
open accession talks with Turkey, the process is facing new hurdles
and concerns.

Some E.U. governments, unconvinced of the wisdom of allowing membership
to a large Muslim nation straddling Europe and Asia, are pressing
for some form of “partnership” instead.

The European Parliament raised further problems by voting not to
ratify a customs union with Turkey, and also insisting that Turkey
acknowledge as genocide the killing of some 1.5 million Armenian
Christians at the end of the Ottoman Empire.

The talks are due to begin in Luxembourg on Monday, but as of Thursday,
it was still unclear whether the Turkish foreign minister would even
attend, unless Ankara was satisfied with the negotiating criteria
set down by the E.U. over the next several days.

Although the eventual negotiations could take more than a decade,
Britain has made launching the talks a priority of its current
E.U. presidency.

Polls show that public opinion in Europe is generally opposed to
Turkish membership, a development that would substantially increase
the Muslim population in traditionally Christian Europe, bringing
it to 20 percent. Turkey would also become the largest and poorest
country in the bloc, which currently has 25 members.

Another fear is that cheap labor from Turkey would take away jobs
from Europeans who already face high unemployment rates.

Those favoring Turkey’s entry into the EU, including the British and
Italian governments, believe that the Muslim nation of 72 million
people could act as a bridge between Islam and Christianity. Its
adhesion to Europe would create a positive image of a Muslim democracy
and help to block the tide of Islamic fundamentalism.

The United States also is a firm supporter of E.U. membership for
Turkey, which is already a member of NATO and strategically situated
between Europe and the Middle East.

The Washington-based Center for Security Policy, which generally
supports Bush administration policies, has warned against opening
E.U. membership for Turkey.

In a brief, the center said billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf countries were being laundered in Turkey to finance
terrorism.

Secular education was increasingly being transformed into religious
education, and this could in future years result in the transformation
of the population from a modern secular one to one that is more
radically Islamist, it said.

“Prime Minister [Recep] Erdogan is systematically turning his country
from a Muslim secular democracy into an Islamofascist state governed
by an ideology anathema to European values and freedoms,” the center
argued.

Turkey’s bid for membership dates back to 1960, but before its
application could be considered, it had to satisfy E.U. requirements
on democracy, human rights and justice.

Turkey has carried out reforms including changing the penal code,
abolishing capital punishment, reducing corruption and torture, and
improving the economy. Supporters argue that it has come a long way
and should not be turned away now.

“It would now be a huge betrayal of the hopes and expectations of
the Turkish people and of Prime Minister Erdogan’s reform program if,
at this crucial time, we turned our back on Turkey,” British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw told the ruling Labor Party’s annual conference
on Wednesday.

“The Turkey of two years ago is not the same Turkey as you see today,”
said Amanda Akcakoca, a policy analyst at the European Policy Center
in Brussels.

However, many obstacles remain and will play a major role in the
accession talks. These include a need for Turkey to reduce corruption
and the role of the black market, normalizing relations with the
Greek Cypriot government (Turkey occupies northern Cyprus), opening
the border with Armenia, and granting the Kurdish minority more rights.

“The reform process won’t be easy,” said Akcakoca. “Both economic and
political changes are going to have to take place, but also a change
in mentality, where Turkey will have to stop seeing things in terms
of bargaining and will have to understand that they have to do what
they have to do and they can’t turn everything into a carpet sale.”

During the period of the accession talks the Turkish government
itself will need to maintain domestic public opinion in favor of EU
membership, despite the sometimes difficult reform requirements.

Some European governments are aware of the sensitivity of the issue,
and how it could impact their own political standing.

In France, for instance, President Jacques Chirac says he is in favor
of Turkish membership but the man thought in a strong position to
succeed him as president in 2007 elections, Interior Minister Nicolas
Sarkozy, is opposed. France has promised a referendum on the issue.

Austria opposes Turkish membership and has demanded that negotiations
should be for a “privileged partnership” instead.

According to a senior French diplomat, many European leaders are
hoping that the accession talks will in the end lead to that type of
partnership, rather than full membership.

“The negotiations cannot be started on that premise but they could
conclude with an agreement for Turkey to become a privileged partner,”
he said.

Turkey has so far rejected any formula short of full membership.

Akcakoca said she believed the accession talks would in the end result
in membership.

“History has shown that any country that has started [E.U.] accession
talks has finished them [successfully]. Personally, I think that Turkey
will finish and become a member of the EU in 15 to 20 years,” she said.

(CNSNews International Editor Patrick Goodenough contributed to
this report.)