BABACAN RELAXES WITH ERDOGAN-GUL SUPPORT
By Suleyman Kurt
Zaman, Turkey
zaman.com
Oct 13 2005
“We have taken a long and rocky road,” is the phrase widely repeated by
the public as to how Turkey will conduct the membership negotiations
with the European Union (EU). The first official assessment on the
subject came from the Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan as he underlined
the same point rather than discussing technical details: “At the end
of the road, the standards of life in Turkey will further improve.”
That the Turkish flag was together with that of the EU in one frame
in the room where Babacan met the press did not pass unnoticed. The
background behind him was split into two; on the one side stood
Turkey’s crescent and star and on the other EU’s 12 stars. The
beginning of the negotiations confers Turkey the right to wave both
flags. If the government decides, both flags can stand next to each
other in Turkey’s all foreign missions.
Ali Babacan’s tone so far was not much political, as he is the
minister of state for treasury; it just manifested how competent he
was in this subject. He used to have rather a technocratic profile.
On October 12, he provided technical information about the organization
of the negotiation delegation and the negotiation process; but he
produced assertive statements as well. The sentence, “policies will
henceforth be grounded upon progress rather than fear” should be
underlined. This sentence targets those who, inside and abroad base
their policies on fears. During the entire conversation, Babacan
seemed committed to the negotiation process and its outcomes.
Those who criticized his youth and thought that he could not
simultaneously handle the ministry and the office of chief negotiator
were faced by a self confident Babacan. In fact his youth can turn
into an advantage during the process. His forming friendship with the
EU Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn to the extent of spending
his family holiday with him is a consequence of this. We should not
also forget the EU’s positive approach towards young leaders.
Top negotiator Babacan strongly believes that Turkey will successfully
handle negotiations and end up being a full member of the European
Union (EU). However, he needs to talk the bureaucracy and the public
into believing that this will come true sooner or later. There is no
doubt that as a top negotiator, Babacan will spend most of his time
persuading the Turkish public. As the short-term difficulties emerge,
objections will ease gradually. Those with financial disadvantages
will put much pressure on him eventually. And what’s more is the
need to talk to members of the cabinet into believing in Turkey’s EU
membership. Matters such as Cyprus, allegations about the so-called
Armenian genocide, and the minorities will give the government a
headache. Babacan will be dealing more with the economic aspect of
the EU program.
A large number of government officials claim nothing will be the same
again after October 3. Turkey is most likely to face huge problems
and debates soon on its one-way path. The government is also perfectly
aware of this. Considering the fact that the EU process is so difficult
to manage, the 25-nation bloc was set high on top of the agenda for
all the departments and institutions. A new department has not yet
been formed, and a new structure not developed to meet requirements
due to emerge during the negotiations. The Turkish Prime Minister
has given the ministers the order to deal with the Union first. A
deputy secretary of each department will assume responsibility for
the negotiations.
The high performance of Babacan and his confidence is evidence that
he can overcome the difficulties. Babacan has the chance to find
much room for maneuver thanks to the support of Erdogan and Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. The business world and non-governmental
organizations look on it as sure that the government that Babacan
will manage to follow his successful policies on the EU as he has
been successful in dealing with the global business circles. The
picture that Babacan portrayed of himself at Wednesday’s meeting has
the characteristics to prove this point right.