Since October 2005, the accession of negotiations has been opened between the European Union and Turkey. However, the debate is still raging on Turkey's inclusion or rejection. In this presentation, we have examined whether Turkey should or should not be welcomed in the HAVE segment. This question not only raises debates within the EU, but also the identity of the European Union and its interests to welcome Turkey.
Most EU countries officially welcome the prospect of Turkish membership. In contrast, public opinion in most EU countries appears, with varying degrees of intensity, to oppose the Turkish membership. And in general, Europeans are deeply divided over the prospect of welcoming Turkey in the EU.
Reasons given for the opposition to Turkey in the EU include: Turkey's large population of 70 million and rising fast; its relative poverty and doubts about its cultural compatibility with Europe, with almost the whole population being Muslim. The opponents fear also a wave of immigrants across the EU where there are already 3.8 Millions Turks. The French, Germans and Austrians seem especially unhappy with the idea.
Backers of Turkey's EU bid say it would bring rapid economic growth, a young workforce and a huge army to the EU. They see Turkey as a potential bulwark against Islamic fundamentalism and as building a bridge between Islam and the West.
Thus despite the historic decision of Europe's leaders, that have agreed to negotiate Turkey's full membership into the EU, the Europeans are still divided on that idea.
This document will discuss whether Turkey should or should not be welcomed in the EU. That question not only raises the issue of the current debates within the EU, but also on the interest of the EU to see Turkey inside it.
In the first part, the long common past Turkey has had with the EU will be discussed; then the fears and uncertainties to let Turkey access the European Union will be addressed and in the end there will be a discussion if it is in the EU interest to welcome Turkey as a member?
Turkey has had a long association with the project of European integration. It made its first application to join what was then the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959. The EEC's response to this first application was to propose the creation of an association between the EEC and Turkey until such time as circumstances permitted Turkey's accession.
This association became real with the signing of the Ankara Agreement in 1963. This Agreement envisaged the progressive establishment of a customs union which would bring the two sides closer together in economic and trade matters. It was supplemented by an additional protocol signed in 1970, which set out a timetable for the abolition of tariffs and quotas on goods circulating between Turkey and the EEC.
However there was a temporary freeze in the Turkish – EEC relations as a result of the military intervention in government in 1980. But, following the multiparty elections of 1983, relations were re-established and Turkey applied for full membership in 1987. The European Commission's Opinion on Turkish membership, endorsed by the European Council in 1990, confirmed Turkey's eligibility for membership yet deferred an in-depth analysis of its application until the emergence of a more favourable environment.
[...] Economic expansion The government in Ankara has worked to ensure that the country's decades of high inflation and economic instability are consigned to the past. Turkey's economy has been transformed since the 2000 economic crisis. Growth has averaged 6-7%. Inflation has fallen from 70% in 2001 to 8%. And Government revenues have soared and public debt has fallen by a third. But per capita GNP is still less than a third of the EU average and unemployment remains above 10%. So the Turkish economic situation is not the same as the European countries. But Turkey seems to be on the way to the EU. [...]
[...] Around € 1.15 billion of EU financing is currently being managed in Turkey for projects committed between 1996 and 2004 inclusive. The budgetary allocation for 2005 is 300 m€, and for m€. Some new changes After therecognition as a candidate country, Turkey tried to change and drew up a National Plan for the Adoption of the Acquis, which outlined the government's own strategy for the harmonization of its legislation with that of the EU. A revised Accession Partnership was adopted by the European Council in May 2003. [...]
[...] Should Turkey be welcomed in the European Union? Since October 2005, the accession negotiations have been opened between the European Union and Turkey; however the debate on its accession continues. Most EU countries officially welcome the prospect of Turkish membership. In contrast, public opinion in most EU countries appears, with varying degrees of intensity, to oppose Turkish membership. And in general, Europeans are deeply divided over the prospect of welcoming Turkey in the EU. So one can wonder why there is such a debate on Turkey's accession? [...]
[...] Turkey also continues to post state-financed imams to regions of EU Member states., Some religious traditions are a concern, as they may be at odds with official equality policy - for example the continued consecration of polygamous marriages by state-paid imams, incompatible with the EU's very fundamental insistence on equal rights for women. So, in that area as well, Turkey appears really different from the EU. But the religious issue can be seen very differently. Turkish membership could create a bridge between Europe and the Islamic World. Some prerequisites Those huge differences with other countries of the EU led to the set up of some pre- requisites before the Turkish accession. i. The Copenhagen Criteria Turkey had first to fulfil the Copenhagen Criteria. [...]
[...] A rural country Turkey remains a rather poor and rural country. Particularly its eastern part is a rural country, employing more than one third of all workers in agriculture. And only to help agriculture it would cost the European Union 11 million Euros. And in other fields, one may suppose that Turkey will be the first beneficiaries of all aids. So one can wonder if the EU can support and absorb such a poor and large state, and Member States worry about a potentially huge wave of poor Turkish immigration. [...]
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