'Why won't Turkey become a full EU member before 2015?'
by brother » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:21 pm
EU chief urges ‘frank debate’ on Turkey
By Myria Antoniadou in Brussels
THE EU President yesterday underlined the need for a serious and frank discussion on Turkey’s accession and for the first time referred to the fact that the negotiations scheduled to open on October 3 were “open ended”. He said this meant there was no commitment regarding the conclusion of the process.
“We need the support of the member states and the citizens for enlargement,” Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference after the Commission’s weekly meeting that assessed the situation after last week’s failed EU summit.
The President said the signals sent by the electorates in France and Holland regarding Turkey’s accession should be discussed “frankly” and expressed the view it would be a “complete mistake not to look into this issue seriously and see the perceptions in many member states”.
Barroso was clear that the EU’s executive would fulfill its obligations towards Turkey, such as the preparation of the framework of the negotiations expected to be presented next week. He also said the EU must respect last December’s decision to open talks with Ankara, but he did, however, underline that they were “open-ended”.
When the EU decided to open talks with Turkey last year, the reference to “open-ended” talks had been played down, with Commission officials and diplomats underlining that this was the case in all negotiations, but that accession was the aim.
Commission Vice President in charge of communication Margot Wallstrom told the briefing yesterday that there was much ignorance and prejudice on both sides (in the EU and in Turkey), which made the need to engage in a political and cultural dialogue even more important.
In the meantime, British diplomatic sources have said London supports enlargement and believes the commitments made have to be met. This is the line it will be taking during its EU presidency, beginning next month.
However, if member states want to put additions to the negotiating framework going beyond what has already been agreed, the sources said, the UK will have to hear them out and have their demands discussed.
Enlargement was avoided by the heads of states in last week’s summit as it has turned into a thorny subject following the ‘no’ votes to the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands, where the previous and future expansion (especially with Turkey) were an issue during the campaign.
Following the referenda, politicians in France and Austria have been referring to a possible third way for Turkey, while the leader of Germany’s opposition party (CDU) who is expected to be the next Chancellor, Angela Merkel, favours a “privileged partnership” rather than full membership.
Even the former Commission President, Romano Prodi, is said to believe a slowdown in enlargement is politically unavoidable. He told Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino yesterday: "We need to rethink… the referenda have rung a loud alarm on Turkey... I believe that the conditions now are no longer there for Turkey's entry in the short or medium term."
The man heading the Commission when it proposed the start of accession talks with Turkey, said: “I come from a country where my mother, when she wanted to say something scary, would say: 'The Turks are coming'."
Not looking good
By Myria Antoniadou in Brussels
THE EU President yesterday underlined the need for a serious and frank discussion on Turkey’s accession and for the first time referred to the fact that the negotiations scheduled to open on October 3 were “open ended”. He said this meant there was no commitment regarding the conclusion of the process.
“We need the support of the member states and the citizens for enlargement,” Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference after the Commission’s weekly meeting that assessed the situation after last week’s failed EU summit.
The President said the signals sent by the electorates in France and Holland regarding Turkey’s accession should be discussed “frankly” and expressed the view it would be a “complete mistake not to look into this issue seriously and see the perceptions in many member states”.
Barroso was clear that the EU’s executive would fulfill its obligations towards Turkey, such as the preparation of the framework of the negotiations expected to be presented next week. He also said the EU must respect last December’s decision to open talks with Ankara, but he did, however, underline that they were “open-ended”.
When the EU decided to open talks with Turkey last year, the reference to “open-ended” talks had been played down, with Commission officials and diplomats underlining that this was the case in all negotiations, but that accession was the aim.
Commission Vice President in charge of communication Margot Wallstrom told the briefing yesterday that there was much ignorance and prejudice on both sides (in the EU and in Turkey), which made the need to engage in a political and cultural dialogue even more important.
In the meantime, British diplomatic sources have said London supports enlargement and believes the commitments made have to be met. This is the line it will be taking during its EU presidency, beginning next month.
However, if member states want to put additions to the negotiating framework going beyond what has already been agreed, the sources said, the UK will have to hear them out and have their demands discussed.
Enlargement was avoided by the heads of states in last week’s summit as it has turned into a thorny subject following the ‘no’ votes to the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands, where the previous and future expansion (especially with Turkey) were an issue during the campaign.
Following the referenda, politicians in France and Austria have been referring to a possible third way for Turkey, while the leader of Germany’s opposition party (CDU) who is expected to be the next Chancellor, Angela Merkel, favours a “privileged partnership” rather than full membership.
Even the former Commission President, Romano Prodi, is said to believe a slowdown in enlargement is politically unavoidable. He told Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino yesterday: "We need to rethink… the referenda have rung a loud alarm on Turkey... I believe that the conditions now are no longer there for Turkey's entry in the short or medium term."
The man heading the Commission when it proposed the start of accession talks with Turkey, said: “I come from a country where my mother, when she wanted to say something scary, would say: 'The Turks are coming'."
Not looking good
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brother - Main Contributor
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by sk » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:05 pm
no its not looking good but the eu has to be honest with turkey. they cant start accession talks and then after 6-7 years to have a referendum for turkeys entrance in eu. if you want to have a referendum about turkey have it now before the accession talk begin. both parts have to know where they are going. since in a few countries it has been decided that the people will have the final say(france) its better to do it now than later.
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by garbitsch » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:50 pm
sk, we cannot foresee the future. May be in the future, Turkey will become an economic power, who knows! But I got your point. You do not want to see hypocracy on Turkey's accession process, but if they held a referendum now, the result will obviously be "NO". However, if 10 or 15 years later Turkey becomes developed with working democracy, then I do not see any opposition from countries like France and Austria. Besides, in the current situation, we see the rise of Sarkozy in France and Merkel in Germany. These two politicians hold strong beliefs against Turkey's membership. Yet, we cannot know what the future politicians will think about Turkey's membership.
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garbitsch - Regular Contributor
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by sk » Thu Jun 23, 2005 4:24 pm
yes you are right but if turkey gets a no now but it continues with reforms it will be able to apply again in lets say 6-7 years and everybody will have the excuse that "hey look ,turkey has improved and moved forward ,it deserves to be a member". if they start negotiations and say no later they will not be able to find any excuses to let turkey join later!
but as you said,we cant foresee the future, turkey might become an economic power,eu may not exist,or maybe china will be the only superpower in 10 years. nobody really knows......
but what is important is that no one should play with the future of a whole nation as if its a game .
but as you said,we cant foresee the future, turkey might become an economic power,eu may not exist,or maybe china will be the only superpower in 10 years. nobody really knows......
but what is important is that no one should play with the future of a whole nation as if its a game .
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by garbitsch » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:06 pm
I think the EU is in a very difficult position regarding Turkey's application. The elites within EU bureaucracy are pro-Turkey, but the citizens are not quite reluctant to see Turkey in the union. Hence, the EU is playing a game to appease both Turkey and the EU citizens. As Barroso said, "the accession for membership with Turkey will start on 3rd of November, but the talks will not necessarily end up with full membership". On the one hand, Turks will feel that they are still wanted by the EU, on the other hand the EU citizens will think that Turkey's accession can end without full membership. As I said before, we should wait and see what will happen till 2015. Additionally, a fresh no vote will END any hopes and support to EU among Turks (which has already begun to decline) and the reforms might stop.
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garbitsch - Regular Contributor
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by Rahmi » Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:25 pm
sk wrote:yes you are right but if turkey gets a no now but it continues with reforms it will be able to apply again in lets say 6-7 years and everybody will have the excuse that "hey look ,turkey has improved and moved forward ,it deserves to be a member". if they start negotiations and say no later they will not be able to find any excuses to let turkey join later!
The reason why Turkey wants to become a member is to get support for its economic development. This is why she is ready to make concessions. But, if Turkey (somehow) would get close to European economies, it will be eager to make demands rather than answer them.
For example, the recent trade policy is targeted to increase the total volume of external trade, rather than decrease the trade deficit. The aim is to make European economies depend on Turkey, at least to a level that they would also feel the pinch if they choosed to impose economic sanctions.
Why submit to the Union's will if we can counter it.
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