TURKEY’S LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO EU MEMBERSHIP FEEDBACK
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
Jan 17 2007
The tale of the Turkey and the European Union is one of high- powered
and sometimes dramatic diplomacy.
The story is, above all, a long one: Turkey began its efforts to
secure European Union admission back in 1959. In those days the
body was known as the European Economic Community (EEC). Back then,
no one in the EEC believed the time was rife for accession and so an
association agreement was reached with this strategically-important
land on the border with Asia. The treaty came into force in September
1963 with the signing of the so-called Ankara Protocol. The declaration
– a synonym for the latest crisis – is a customs union designed to
boost trade by reducing tariffs. By 1970 it had been augmented by
a number of other treaties. What followed, however, was a serious
rift in relations. In 1980 the military seized power in Ankara in a
coup and until parliamentary elections were held in 1983 the silence
between Ankara and Brussels was an icy one.
It was not until April 1987 that the Turkish government made its
next move on the road to becoming a EU member. It filed a formal
application to join but ten years were to pass until December 1997 when
the heads of state and government agreed that Turkey was in a position
to attain membership. Ankara was initially outraged, especially since
this coincided with paving the way for the admittance of eight new
countries from central and eastern Europe as well as two Mediterranean
states from 2004.
Turkey’s feeling of having been snubbed has coloured relations ever
since. It was only in December 1999 at the Helsinki summit that
the EU approved Turkey’s status as a potential member – a good four
decades after negotiations had first begun. The Ankara government
has since redoubled its efforts to put into practice the political
and economic reforms seen as a pre-requisite to entry in order that
official accession talks might finally get underway. In the so-called
Copenhagen criteria, the EU set out clearly that both a state of law
and democracy are essential if Turkey is to become an EU member. The
EU has been generous in supporting the reform process and between
1996 and 2006 an estimated two billion euros for this purpose have
flowed into the country. From 2007 onwards around a billion euros
annually have been earmarked for this purpose.
In the entry debate Turkey is now dependent on the goodwill of
national governments. The German Christian Democrats tend to be
reserved when it comes to Turkey joining. Germany’s Social Democrats
support Ankara’s aims. Austria delayed the official begin of talks on
October 3, 2005 by 30 hours and finally only pushed through a vague
formula about what would happen if the talks did not lead to success.
At the same time, Vienna managed to push through the start of
accession talks with Croatia. In France parliament approved in October
legislation under which those who deny the genocide against Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire can be prosecuted. Often the attitude towards
Turkey is dictated by domestic political considerations. This applies
particularly to governments in Cyprus and Greece. Cyprus joined on
May 1, 2004 despite there being no solution in sight to the ongoing
conflict on the island between the Turkish and Greek minorities. Since
Turkish troops invaded the northern half of Cyprus in 1974 there have
been a series of unsuccessful diplomatic mediation missions. Turkey
is the only state to recognise the international status of Northern
Cyprus and yet the island joined the EU as a whole. Now one of the
most protracted international problems has become an in-house EU
issue and the practical repercussions are legion.
After entry talks began it became clear that the customs union in place
since 1995 – the 1963 Ankara Protocol – would have to be extended
to Cyprus and the other nine new EU states. This means in practice
that vessels and aircraft from Cyprus must be given access to ports
and airports throughout Turkey. Allowing this to take place would,
in the eyes of the EU, be tantamount to an indirect recognition of
Cyprus by the Ankara government. Turkey sees this differently and has
so far allowed all the ultimatums on ratifying the Ankara Protocol
to expire, citing the lack of economic support from the north of the
island. The row has escalated. Whatever the EU states decide to do
about the future course of entry talks with Turkey, one thing remains
clear. Relations have reached a new nadir.
Looked at realistically, Turkey has little chance of entering the EU
before 2013. The country must continue to change its system in order
to bolster its position as a democratic market economy. At the same
time, the EU is now obliged to reform itself thoroughly in order to
ensure that the "block of 27 members and upward" can be financed and
retain its capability to act as a unified body.
Contact: EU-Erweiterungskommissar Olli Rehn:
index_en.htm,
ey/index_en.htm
