Turkey Resilient Despite Europe’s Crisis
Deutsche Welle, Germany
June 2 2005
The constitution may be in tatters but Erdogan and Gul’s hopes remain
Turkey’s hopes of EU accession remain high despite the rejection of
the EU constitution by France and the Netherlands and a potential
swing to the right in Ankara’s key supporter Germany.
Despite making steps to improve its human rights record and the
treatment of women in its society, Turkey now faces an increasingly
uphill battle in its bid to become a member of the European Union.
The fact that this situation arises through no fault of its own has
only made Turkey more resilient in its accession campaign.
The double ‘no’ vote from France and the Netherlands on the European
constitution may have left the treaty in tatters but Turkey remains
committed to becoming a member of this dysfunctional family.
“We keep our hopes alive that the problems that have emerged will
also be overcome and European integration will be taken forward to
new targets as the necessary lessons are learned from the democratic
decisions of the French and Dutch people,” a statement from the
Turkish government released on Thursday said.
“Turkey will keep up efforts to accomplish the choice that the
overwhelming part of its people has made. Our fundamental objective in
the coming days is to ensure the successful completion of membership
negotiations with the European Union which will start on October 3,”
it added.
When the heads of the EU states agreed to open accession negotiations
with Turkey in December and penciled in the October 3 start date
on condition of progress in the Cyprus situation, few would have
predicted the bloc to be in such turmoil as it got closer to the time
of the talks.
Turkey cited as reason for rejection
But for Turkey, the state of the bloc it so desperately wants to
join matters little. There is no mention of Turkey’s entry in the
constitutional text and there is no law which states that new members
cannot be admitted until there is a valid constitution in place.
However, as Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul admitted recently,
while it does not directly affect the process surrounding an accession
bid, the Dutch and French rejection of the treaty does change the
political climate; a change which could prove costly to Turkey.
While the constitution text did not mention Turkey, the idea of the
Islamic country joining the EU was definitely a referendum issue,
as much as part of the whole enlargement discussion as one regarding
the specifics of 70 million Turks joining the EU.
In France, where many right-wing groups brought up the Turkey question
as part of the ‘non’ campaign, President Jacques Chirac’s position has
been severely weakened. Before the referendum, Chirac was a staunch
supporter of Turkey’s bid. Now, he may have to pacify an empowered
populace by toning down his support.
Conservative Germany could cripple bid
Germany, another of Turkey’s main supporters, may have not had to
go through the potentially painful process of a referendum to ratify
the constitution but still faces internal upheaval which may dilute
or even dissolve its patronage of Turkey’s bid.
The possibility of Gerhard Schroder’s center-left coalition of Social
Democrats (SPD) and Greens being ousted from government in early
federal elections this year may lead to a conservative administration
taking the reins. A conservative administration which has publicly
opposed Turkey’s entry to the EU in favor of a diluted “privileged
partnership” version which would have no voting rights.
The “privileged partnership” was originally spoken of by the Christian
Social Union (CSU) leader Edmund Stoiber in December but it has been
adopted by the recently nominated Christian Democratic Union’s (CDU)
chancellor candidate Angela Merkel.
One week ago, the CDU leader reiterated the opposition’s stance
on Turkey, saying that Turkey should only be allowed to take part
in accession talks if it has recognized Cyprus as a state under
international law and has renewed diplomatic relations with Armenia
by October.
While Abdullah Gul indirectly rejected Merkel’s calls, Turkish Economy
Minister Ali Babacan took a more pragmatic approach. “There may be
different views in the EU (on Turkey’s candidacy). The important
thing is the EU has decided to start negotiations on October 3 and
has embarked on an irreversible path for Turkey,” he told a business
conference in televised remarks.
“It’s not easy to say what kind of political environment there will
be in Europe in 10 years’ time but we don’t doubt the differences in
EU perceptions of Turkey will narrow,” he said.