I’m still trying to decide whether to applaud or scold the European Union for the offer they presented Turkey. The more cynical side of me thinks they made Turkey an offer they knew they’d have to refuse (hence shifting responsibility for not admitting Turkey into the EU to Ankara), but the more rational/optimistic side of me thinks they’re using their power toward the greater good, forcibly accelerating a reconciliation between Turkey and Cyprus that is in the entire region’s best interests regardless of whether Turkey is later accepted.
Requiring Turkey to initial a new customs accord with member states on Friday, which would mean de facto recognition of Cyprus, on the face of it seems rational. If you want to join the EU, and Cyprus is part of the EU, you can’t continue to deny their sovereignty. But Turkey had set some "red line" conditions with their application, most of which were in response to ideas floated by those opposed to their membership, and most of which I support. They stipulated that
- Negotiations must have Turkey’s complete membership as the final aim
- Turkey must not be forced to extend diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Cyprus
- The decision to start talks must not be conditional on later decisions by EU leaders
- There should be no special conditions imposed permanently on Turkey
I fully agree with Turkey on numbers 1, 3, and 4, but side with the EU on number 2. It’s gonna cost Prime Minister Erdogan a pound of flesh to get his country to accept this, but sooner or later they have to, so it might as well be sooner. I hope Erdogan takes a long-term view and accepts.
UPDATE: Looks like they’ve reached what they’re calling a "compromise" although for all intents and purposes it looks like Erdogan bit the bullet. Good on him.
Agree. They should recognize. If you want to be part of the club, you have to play by its rules.
I agree that they should recognize Cyprus. But if I were Turkey I would have significant fears that when the EU says (as they have) that Turkey should do A, B, C and D and then we will talk about letting you in they really mean Turkey should do A, B, C and D and then we will say no–but thanks for doing things that we wanted.
But if I were Turkey I would have significant fears that when the EU says (as they have) that Turkey should do A, B, C and D and then we will talk about letting you in they really mean Turkey should do A, B, C and D and then we will say no–but thanks for doing things that we wanted.
They do have those fears, which is why their conditions included items 1, 3, and 4. Not that that will be enough, but I like to think that whether or not Turkey joins the EU in the end, the process it will go through to try and get there will benefit the Turkish people.
Perhaps, but will the changes be so entrenched as to be safe when the final no comes?
Perhaps, but will the changes be so entrenched as to be safe when the final no comes?
We’ve had this discussion. In the overall picture I think it reveals less faith on your part in democracy and civil rights than I have. I believe that it’s much harder to take rights away from people once they’ve tasted them. That the process will definitely change the Turkish people.
I certainly hope you are right. 🙂
BTW, NPR had a great story on this yesterday. Did you know that the Turkish parliament has passed 460 laws in order to meet the EU’s conditions? That’s pretty amazing. Rule sets, baby!
Having been to Turkey, I’m hoping that one of those laws bans the proliferation of ugly, random, half-completed reinforced concrete apartment complexes.
Having been to Turkey, I’m hoping that one of those laws bans the proliferation of ugly, random, half-completed reinforced concrete apartment complexes.
You’d have to ban the earthquakes that necessitated some of those first I suspect. Not that they’ll withstand the next earthquake, but the folks needed somewhere to live (and fast) after that last one.
I’d ban the smoking, myself. You can barely breathe in a Turkish bar.
Yeah, but they didn’t finish them.
Oh, and Seabass, while I’ve got you here … remember that discussion we all had about Al Jazeera and Qatar? One thing I learned recently was that the Islamist Sheikh Qaradawi, who hosts a very popular talk show on Islam, conveniently had a surgery scheduled during the invasion of Iraq. So that’s another example of Qatari control over the network, only this time it was in our favor.
This site offers a nice summary of the turkish/greek cyrus history and problems in English. It is quite a complex situation.
People in the EU were quite shocked when the Greek Cypriots voted against a reunification plan as part of the entrance of Cyprus into the EU. People had not fully recognized the anti-Turkish feelings amongst the Greeks I think, and now suddenly Greek-cyprus has EU (voting) power…
I am glad things seem to progress well. I also think that Erdogan must present some cases very strongly to keep exchange ‘money’ in the negotiations.
I am with Edward, and hope that Turkey will become a member. I am in favour for several reasons; bridge to moslim world, strong economic ties to prevent them from being used as a military bridge towards us, improvement of the economic situation in Turkey, possibly a strong partner amongst others.
I also think it will have an effect on the Kurds. If Turkey becomes a member, do the Kurds than want to become part of the EU, thus being protected as a minority (there situation has allready improved because of EU interference) whilst profiting from the economic possibilities? Or will they continue in their strife for an autonomous country – in support of and with the Iraqi Kurds?
I agree with Sebastian that there should be a provision to ensure as much of the acquired progress as possible, even if the negotiations fail. In the Dutch press this is mentioned as an importent part of the negotiations process. There is no way to ensure it, but the Turks have worked their way towards more democratic measures for a number of years now and negotiations will take another 10-15 years, so we can hope that it slowly becomes part of their culture too.
If Turkey cannot stay democratic, which ME country can?