The entry of Turkey in the European Union

Résumé du document

Throughout its history, the Turkish Republic has been associated with Europe more than any of the other twelve countries. Turkey was one of the first countries to establish relations as a candidate country with EEC, even before the United Kingdom or Spain, which were not the EEC members at the time. In addition, it is the oldest applicant. However, it was the most recent country to be accepted as a candidate country, and it is the only one of the current accession members that was not given an accession date. It has been accounted for by the fact that Turkey does indeed not fulfill the Copenhagen criteria and therefore cannot at this stage be offered a date for starting accession negotiations but the EU has promised to examine again Turkey's candidacy and, in case of fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria, to give Turkey a clear date and genuine agenda for admission...

Extraits

[...] This contradiction inhibited the development of Turkey's relations with the EC. This protectionism was a source of tension between Brussels and Ankara. The Turkish economy was separated from the rest of Europe and therefore did not experience the rapid growth that Southern Europe knew. In 1995, a customs union (designed to abolish tariffs on imports) was created. The initial consequence was a huge deficit of Turkey balance of trade with the EU, but in the long run, it will produce a more liberalized economic environment and facilitate Turkey to integrate the global market. [...]

[...] Stephen Larrabee, Ian O. [...]

[...] In August 2002, the Parliament passed a major series of reforms: the death penalty is now abolished except in times of war; broadcasting and private tutoring in the Kurdish language are now legalized. These reforms have been welcomed by the EU but it still claims that these changes do not go far enough to meet the Copenhagen criteria. Even if one should not undervalue the significance of the numerous reforms, the EU is waiting for the results, namely the implementation which is very slow, sometimes even inexistant due to the military-bureaucracy's malevolent. [...]

[...] lobbying for Turkey's admission has been a source of friction and can create suspicions, particularly in France and Germany, that Turkey's membership may be promoted as a mechanism to forestall the sort of tight political integration envisioned by Jean Monnet and others who desired a united Europe capable of asserting itself against superpowers like the United States; on the other hand, with the crisis in transatlantic relations that has followed the Iraq War, Turkey will have to face an uncomfortable choice between Europe and the United States. Should Turkey be deemed too dependant on the U.S.A., it would be a hurdle for its admission. This new factor has altered Turkish Foreign Policy. Thus, Turkey kept its distance from the American campaign in Iraq and refused to permit the American army to use its airbase although a generous package of grants and credits was on the table. [...]

[...] Turkey's role can indeed be viewed as a bridge between Europe and Asia, and Middle East, which could permitt the EU to assert itself as a great political power in the international stage. Bibliography F. Stephen Larrabee, Ian O. Lesser, Turkish Foreign Policy in an age of uncertainty, RAND Iver B. Neumann, Uses of the Other: The in European identity formation, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Eberhard Rhein, Europe and the Greater Middle East, in RobertD. Blackwill and Michael Stürmer, eds., Allies Divided: Transatlantic policies for the Greater Middle East, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Mujeeb R. Khan and M. [...]