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ANKARA: Y. Soylemez AKP's Loss Of Appetite For The EU

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  • ANKARA: Y. Soylemez AKP's Loss Of Appetite For The EU

    Y. SOYLEMEZ AKP'S LOSS OF APPETITE FOR THE EU

    Turkish Daily News
    September 18, 2006 Monday

    It is now the "secret de Polishinelle" that even the tightlipped EU
    bureaucrats cannot hide the public secret that Prime Minister Recep
    Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) government
    has lost much of its politically gastronomic choice, which was the
    appetite of a "gourmet" only three years ago. There is no denying that
    the AKP had previously put the EU question as a first priority goal
    in their foreign policy agenda, a pivotal item of declared essence
    that is now on a slow fire, to say nothing of the back burner.

    The reasons why and how the AKP government has regressed since last
    October with no visible implementation or action are quite a few.

    Primarily, the European Court of Human Rights headscarf decision
    no doubt cast a severe blow to the AKP's main goal in attaining EU
    membership. This was more than a disappointment that backfired. The
    EU refused to be used as an instrument against secularist principles.

    Secondly, the EU kept on forcing the Cyprus issue as a means of
    permanent political pressure over the AKP government, knowing full
    well that it was too much too bear for the Erdogan government as no
    concessions were possible on their part, or for any Turkish party or
    government, for that matter. Thirdly, the important psychological
    factor that "the EU does not want Turkey, so we don't want the EU"
    feeling in the body politic became widespread. As expected, support for
    the EU has decreased from 78 percent to 54 percent in the time since
    Turkey's candidature was approved and a semblance of negotiations in
    the form of the Screening Process started and completed.

    In spite of some positive and encouraging statements about the way
    the screening process is going on the technical level, the loss of
    appetite for the process has been obvious. Those involved in the
    process while comparing notes about the acquis were in no way ready
    to bind themselves on any issue regarding the future membership. Ali
    Babacan, the chief negotiator for Turkey's EU accession talks was
    conspicuous by his absence from Brussels, by not being present at
    the scene of activity and decision to canvas and to socialize. This
    was naturally interpreted as a tactical display of a lack of interest
    and a message that a non-committal attitude had prevailed.

    This declining interest, which started at the end of last year,
    seems to be of critical importance for Turkey-EU relations. The
    process of negotiations may well go off the rails, causing a much
    feared "train crash" which is a catastrophic eventuality, mainly due
    to the impasse over the Cyprus problem. Ever since Turkey signed the
    Additional Protocol last year the EU has been blunt on insisting that
    by signing the Additional Protocol Turkey promised to open sea and air
    ports to Greek Cyprus and that promise must be kept. That protocol,
    though signed on behalf of Turkey, has not yet been submitted to the
    Turkish Parliament for ratification, a legal necessity before it can
    be adopted. The EU professes to understand Turkey's predicament and
    the fairness of quid pro quo that before this can be done, first and
    foremost the isolation of the KKTC must be ended, but the EU is at
    the same time unwilling to apply any pressure that this isolation be
    ended. Thus there is a dialogue of the deaf but not the dumb. This
    all means that the EU and Turkey are about to arrive at a dangerous
    juncture in a relationship into which both are locked.

    The EU's Candidate Countries Director-General Pierre Mirel, in a
    recent interview with Kriter magazine, analyzed the situation thus,
    and I agree with him: "It cannot be denied that there is an impression
    that Turkey has lost its excitement, or urge, for the EU.

    Turkey does not seem to understand the importance of the Oct. 3,
    2005 decision taken under very difficult conditions, in a political
    environment that was against the enlargement of the EU. It is very
    disappointing to see disinterest rather than an appreciating stand."

    He added that "Turkey seems to be behaving not as a future partner
    but as an opposing party." Indeed an example of this attitude can be
    seen in the prime minister's negative remarks vis-a-vis suspension of
    negotiations over the past few months. What now seems a possibility is
    that the Free Circulation of Goods, Customs Union and Transportation
    chapter may not be opened but instead frozen because of the Cyprus
    "Sword of Damocles" during September. This may even be followed at
    the beginning of 2007 by suspension of negotiations between Turkey
    and the EU.

    Dutch rapporteur Camiel Eurlings' Turkey report will be discussed
    in the European Parliament around Sept. 25-28. It is an ice cold
    shower for Turkey quite apart from the Cyprus issue. There are 343
    motions in the report on matters like women's rights, the Armenian,
    Pontus and Syriac "genocides," recognition of the rights of Turkish
    Alawis and Yezidi minority rights, headscarves should be permitted in
    universities (in spite of the Strasbourg ruling), the reopening of the
    Greek Orthodox seminary on Heybeliada, as promised a few years ago,
    withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus, in addition to the opening
    of Turkish Cypriot ports to Greek Cypriots. The report itself is
    somewhat self-contradictory, in that the Armenian issue was added at
    the last moment, as Eurlings confessed, although it is not something
    new in that the European Parliament had already adopted an Armenian
    genocide claim in 1987) saying that recognition of genocide should not
    be made part of the criteria or preconditions for Turkey's membership,
    but those words of his are not reflected or contained in the report,
    which is all the more surprising in view of the fact that Eurlings
    is from Holland, 55 percent of whose population supports Turkey's
    candidature while Turkey's support for its own membership according
    to an opinion poll in July 2006 has fallen to 54 percent.

    Although Eurlings says that he "wants Turkey's membership to the EU
    with all his heart and mind as an important alternative for Turkey"
    his report does not reflect any positive thinking. Even so, his
    report must be taken seriously because it reflects the general lack
    of interest in Turkey's membership not only by Turkey but by the
    major political groups in the EU Parliament. Sadly, such a negative
    report that has been described in the Western media variously as a
    warning or even a slap, will not be conducive to more cooperation
    but rather help further estrangement and lack of trust for the future
    between Turkey and the European Union. This report is a wake up call
    heralding a serious crisis that can either lead to a calamity or in
    the famous words of Laurens Van der Post instead be an opportunity
    for both sides to use the sword of Alexander to cut the Gordion Knot.
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