ROCARD: ‘SARKOZY SHOULD CHANGE HIS POSITION ON TURKEY'[FR]
EurActiv
kozy-change-position-turkey/article-185201
sept 8 2009
In view of the geopolitical context and the risk of a deteriorating
situation in Turkey, French President Nicolas Sarkozy should give
the green light to pursuing EU-Turkey membership negotiations, said
Michel Rocard, a former prime minister of France, in an interview
with EurActiv.
Michel Rocard is a former French Prime Minister and member of the EU
Independent Commission on Turkey. He was speaking to Georgi Gotev.
You have signed a report, along with several eminent personalities
under the leadership of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari,
which will in some respects go against the views of certain European
capitals – such as Paris – in recommending to continue EU accession
negotiations with Turkey. What are your arguments?
This is the second European Commission report on Turkey. Since the
first report [published in 2004], the situation has deteriorated
markedly, European enthusiasm has next to disappeared in the Council
of Ministers and in certain countries in Europe, notably France,
Germany and Austria, who count for a lot. In the same fashion,
pro-European opinion has fallen below 50% in Turkey. That is serious,
because Europe doesn’t live in a peaceful neighbourhood.
The drive behind the evolution of reform in Turkey has been largely the
EU perspective given to the country. The European perspective opened
up space for an influx of foreign direct investment in Turkey, which
strengthen the country’s pro-European position; now that phenomenon has
faded. On the other hand, there is the view that Turkey’s traditions
are changing, that because Turkey has not known democracy for long,
as it is not a tradition for them, you cannot blame them, as this
is a 2000 year-long history. But from the shifting attitudes on
the Kurdish Problem, to being fair in the dispute with Cyprus, to
leaving history to decide what happened in 1915 with the Armenians,
it all needed strong European pressure, because such an evolution
shocks the Turkish community.
For the French public the problem is similar to the difficulties that
France had in recognizing the Vichy government for what it was. De
Gaulle had the attitude that the Vichy government was made up of
Martians, that they were not French, but some kind of outsiders. And
all of France has sheltered behind this denial for a long time since
we invented it. It took until President Chirac – even Mitterrand did
not dare – to reconcile ourselves with the truth of history.
The problem is a bit similar in Turkey. What is at stake is the
country’s military tradition, its legal tradition, its journalistic
tradition, and its university tradition, it’s a lot to change. That’s
why they proceed step by step. And now the pro-European movement
is slightly blocked, there’s a risk of deterioration; above all
inside Turkey, and the idea that Turkish accession contributes to
the stability and recognition of young Turkish democracy has lost
ground. The country could close itself off again with a stronger
Muslim identity, tougher and less concerned with democracy. That is
very alarming.
Are issues of energy security something to be considered in all this?
Effectively, there is such an aspect, we are approaching a terrible
period when the production of oil with be at its maximum, when the
oil price risks rising in a extraordinary way due to the shortage of
resources, at consequently security of energy supply during this whole
period becomes key to stability in the world. It’s evident that Turkey,
the pathway for pipelines coming from Iraq, Iran and the Middle East,
so much oil and gas, is vital to European energy dependence. Now,
if that doesn’t work out, it will oblige us to move closer to the
Russians, who are definitely less reliable. Not dealing with the
problem now will damage growth in the future.
What would you say to Mr. Sarkozy, to make him change his position?
I hope that his services, his ministers, his staff, his cabinet,
reflect on the situation. They should be open enough in all cases
to take into account the observable facts, and our report says that
there is an urgency growing to resume the accession process.
Is the French position going to evolve in the coming months?
The current French position is the position of the President of the
Republic. Because everyone knows full well that a number of members
of the current government were much in favour of the accession of
Turkey. And in these particular conditions, the official line is
certainly respected, but there isn’t a French sabotage in everyday
work. But you will be struck by the positions of syndicates, they
are much more favourable, because they understood that the Turkish
pursuit of development is a condition of stopping immigration into
Europe. So it’s a prudent measure. And the views of economists, for
example those of the CNPE (National Committee of Political Economy),
follow in the same vein. I think that Mr. Sarkozy can realise that
things will get worse, and it is better to continue the process.
Do you think that there will be a referendum in France on Turkish
accession?
I truly hope not. A referendum is an opportunity for the media to
manipulate symbols. That’s absolutely not democracy; it’s the rule
of the mighty, it’s intimidation on issues which are taboo. Before
posing questions like that, one has to be sure that the facts are
well understood; the differences, the quirks, it’s about replacing
the "I don’t know it so I don’t trust it" attitude, with better
information. But the true question will be posed in about 10 years,
in any case.