Should Turkey be welcomed in the EU?

Résumé du document

Since October 2005 the accession negotiations are opened between the European Union and Turkey however the debate on its accession is still raging. One can wonder, why such a debate on Turkey's accession? And particularly why such a rejection ?

In this presentation I wondered whether Turkey should or not be welcomed in the EU. That question not only raised the issue of the current debates within the EU, but also the identity of the European Union and on its interest of the EU to welcome Turkey.

Extraits

[...] 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 to the European Union 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 Stares worry on a potentially huge wave of poor Turkish immigration. [...]

[...] Should Turkey be welcomed in the European Union? Since October 2005 the accession negotiations are opened between the European Union and Turkey; however the debate on it s accession is still raging. 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 to Turkish membership. And in general, Europeans are deeply divided over the prospect of welcoming Turkey in the EU. So one can wonder, why such a debate on Turkey's accession? [...]

[...] Anyway, the accession still requires a true debate not only with Member States but also with the European population, without being prejudiced against the Turkish population, giving up the unfounded fears, and looking at the past commitments and agreements. It is just unfair to consider Turkey as the scapegoat of the EU. As a conclusion and considering the very last point of my presentation, I would like to say that Before wondering if Turkey should be welcomed in the EU, we could come back to the definitions of the EU, and what we expect of it in the future. [...]

[...] Islam continues to enjoy large-scale privileges in Turkey, with thousands of imams in state employment, while Turkish clerics from other religions are not paid at all. 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. [...]

[...] The accession of Turkey also raises more and more questions on the identity of the EU. The Identity of the European Union VGE (former french President, drafter of the European Constitution) had warned in November 2002 that ‘Turkey in Europe is the end of Europe'[1] So the question raised is: Is Turkey compatible with the EU identity? The geography The question whether Turkey is part of Europe is essential because, Artilce 0 of the Treaty of the European Union states that European State may apply to become a Member of the Union”. [...]