| Author (Person) | Davies, Eric | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 26.1.04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 26/01/2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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European Commission President Romano Prodi and Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen visited Ankara and Istanbul on 15-16 January. Their visit took place in the wake of the November 2003 publication of the Commission's latest Regular Report on Turkey's progress towards joining the European Union. 2004 is a significant year for Turkey's EU membership bid. In October, the Commission will decide whether Turkey meets the political elements of the 'Copenhagen Criteria', which applicant countries must comply with in order to join the Union. If the Commission decides that the Criteria have been met, then the European Council is expected to quickly open accession negotiations with Turkey. Even if that point is reached, there are still many concerns over Turkey's application, and President Prodi warned the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 15 January that 'accession is not a formality, and not for the immediate future.' Background EU-Turkey links date back to 1963, when an Association Agreement was signed between Turkey and the European Economic Community. Turkey applied to join the (now) European Union in April 1987, making it the first of the 13 Candidate Countries involved in the current enlargement process to apply (Cyprus and Malta applied in July 1990, Hungary in March 1994, Poland in April 1994, Romania and Slovakia in June 1995, Latvia in October 1995, Estonia in November 1995, Lithuania and Bulgaria in December 1995, the Czech Republic in January 1996, Slovenia in June 1996; Croatia - the latest country to seek membership of the Union - submitted its application in February 2003). Despite being the longest-standing applicant for EU membership, Turkey has not yet been invited to start formal membership negotiations. The 1999 Helsinki European Council decided that Turkey was 'a candidate State destined to join the Union on the basis of the same criteria as applied to the other candidate States. Building on the existing European Strategy, Turkey, like other candidate States, will benefit from a pre-accession strategy to stimulate and support its reforms.' As part of the pre-accession strategy, the Commission produces a Regular Report on Turkey's - and the other Candidates' - progress towards membership. On 9 October 2002, based on its Reports for that year, the Commission announced that 10 Candidate Countries would be ready to join the EU in 2004. There was no surprise that Turkey was not amongst them, but there was anger on Turkey's part that the country had not even been given a date for membership negotiations to start. The Commission justified its action on the grounds that, although Turkey had made considerable progress towards meeting the Copenhagen political criteria (including the general abolition of the death penalty), it had not fully met them. Although Greece immediately - and surprisingly - argued that Turkey should be given a date for starting negotiations, the dispute between the two countries over the island of Cyprus has added further to Turkey's difficulties with the EU. Cyprus will join the Union on 1 May 2004. Despite efforts by the EU and the United Nations to ensure that Cyprus joins as a united island, the longstanding dispute which splits the island in two remains unresolved. Although a resolution of the Cyprus issue is not officially linked to Turkey's membership application, there seems little doubt that putting an end to the island's division would improve Turkey's chances of joining. The Commission's Regular Report for 2003 warned that Cyprus represented a 'serious obstacle' to accession talks - something which European Voice said made Oguz Demiralp, Turkey's Ambassador to the European Commission, 'unhappy' ( Following the November 2003 bomb attacks in Istanbul, the United Kingdom and other Member States called for Turkey's progress towards membership to be speeded up, but at the same time pointed out, according to the Financial Times, that 'a deal over Cyprus could change the atmosphere' ( Whether or not the link is 'official', Turkey's desire to join the EU does seem to be providing a powerful incentive to settle the Cyprus issue, if only because, as the BBC has pointed out 'Ankara is well aware that any decision will have to be approved by all EU members, including Greece and Cyprus' (Cautious hopes for Cyprus deal). Hope of reaching a deal was renewed with the arrival of a new coalition government in Ankara, comprising the leftwing Republican Turkish Party and the rightwing Democratic Party (led by the son of the long-serving Turkish Cypriot President, Rauf Denktash, who has been seen as a particular obstacle to a settlement). The coalition has said that it wants to reach agreement based on a United Nations plan for reunification, before Cyprus joins the EU on 1 May (Financial Times: Other issues also haunt Turkey's bid for membership, including the concern that the country is not geographically part of Europe. If Turkey does join the Union, it will be its second largest member, yet according to the Financial Times, 'Opponents of EU accession argue that Turkey is principally an Asian country, with 95 per cent of its land mass and population in Asia' ( A move by one of Turkey's political parties, the AKP (Justice and Development Party), to join the European People's Party in the European Parliament is seen by some as a direct challenge to Europeans' views on Turkey's European credentials. In April 2003, European Voice reported a warning from the AKP 'that a united Europe should not be seen 'as a Christian club'.' ( Yet it is precisely this perceived cultural gap which makes the opportunity of bringing Turkey into the EU so attractive to others. A successful Union which includes such diverse members would be a powerful signal to the world that such barriers can be overcome. Perhaps of more direct relevance to Turkey's membership of the EU are concerns over the role of the military in Turkish society and the country's record on human rights. A Report issued in Spring 2003 by Arie Oostlander MEP (European Voice: The issue of human rights has been a longstanding bone of contention in relation to Turkey's membership application. Indeed, Commissioner Günter Verheugen highlighted it in the context of the 2003 Regular report. In an associated interview with European Voice, he stressed that Turkey 'was “far, far away” from meeting the criteria for accession and faced “very serious shortcomings”.' He went on to say 'my message to Turkey could not be clearer: “Clean up your act on human rights”.' ( Early in 2004, in a move welcomed by the Commission, Turkey signed the Council of Europe's 'Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances' (BBC: Turkey agrees death penalty ban). The visit by the Commission These and other issues were addressed by President Prodi during his two-day visit. In a speech to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mr Prodi - the first Commission President to visit Turkey since 1963 - met the concerns over Turkey's claim to be European head on, stating 'The fact that Turkey belongs to Europe was recognised already in our Association Agreement of 1963.' The benefits to the EU of welcoming Turkey as a Member State were highlighted in a speech at Bosphorus University: 'We in the EU are aware of the important benefits that Turkey's membership could bring to the European Union. Turkey's political weight would undoubtedly add to Europe's capacity to act on [the] world stage. Its geopolitical position as a hub between Europe, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and its close relations with many of the countries concerned make it a key actor for stability, prosperity and peace.' 'Turkey's European ambition is furthermore a valuable asset in countering dangerous pressures and arguments for creating dividing lines between the West and the Moslem world. In this context, Turkey's long experience as a democratic and secular country is a key factor.' He was also, however, quick to point to some of the concerns addressed in the 2003 Regular Report, saying 'the Commission has also identified areas where more efforts are needed and warned of difficulties encountered in practical implementation on the ground. Let me give you a few examples. The independence and the efficiency of the judiciary should be strengthened. Respect for cultural rights should be guaranteed for all Turkish citizens regardless of their origin. Religious freedoms should be ensured. In order to bring the civil-military relationship into line with practices in the Member States, representatives of the National Security Council should be withdrawn from civilian boards.' 'When it comes to the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, although there have been clear signs of improvement, some problems remain. There are still reported cases of torture. We have also signals that human rights defenders are subject to judicial harassment. Religious communities continue to face serious restrictions that are not in keeping with European standards.' The same presentation addressed the issue of Cyprus: 'I am convinced that securing a comprehensive settlement by 1 May would be in the best interest not only of all Cypriots but of the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole. A settlement would also greatly facilitate Turkey's membership aspirations and will clearly influence decisions to be taken in the second half of this year. Let me be clear, this is not a formal condition, but a political reality.' The President also took the opportunity to remind his audience that a revised Accession Partnership was adopted in 2003, ' to assist the Turkish authorities in their efforts to meet the accession criteria, with particular emphasis on the political criteria'. Further information within European Sources Online European Sources Online: Topic Guides
European Sources Online: In Focus
European Sources Online: European Voice
European Sources Online: Financial Times
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions European Commission DG Press and Communication
DG Enlargement
Representation of the European Commission to Turkey
Think Tanks European Policy Centre
Media organisations BBC News Online
Eric Davies Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Countries / Regions | Cyprus, Turkey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
