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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 11 2012
France: a chance to restart
BERÄ°L DEDEOÄ?LU
[email protected]
The presidential elections in France were closely monitored in Turkey.
With the victory of socialist François Hollande, the most frequently
asked question now is how the election of this new president will
affect the future of French-Turkish relations. In order to improve
relations, both sides have to do their bit, which means Turkey mustn't
just wait and expect steps to be taken by France.
What initiatives can Turkey take in order to accelerate the process of
improvement? First of all, we must emphasize that under Hollande's
presidency, the main determiner of relations will not be whether or
not Turkey is a European nation, but whether or not Turkey respects
democratic values.
There were some people in Turkey who were `happy' with Nicolas Sarkozy
because he had turned his attention away from Turkey, resulting in an
absence of criticism over Turkey's problems with democracy. However,
from now on, Turkey should be ready to face much criticism, and it has
to be careful to avoid reacting harshly when it is criticized about
human rights, minority rights, transparency, the rule of law and the
Armenian `problem.'
If the two countries manage to build new bilateral relations based on
EU values, this will be beneficial and constructive for both of them.
Nevertheless, one has to admit that many ill intentions, prejudices,
misunderstandings and broken hearts have poisoned relations in the
last five years. In order to make a fresh start, one of them first
needs to show its goodwill.
Perhaps Hollande should include Turkey on his foreign visit list. We
recall that Sarkozy came to Turkey in February 2011, not as the French
president but as the head of the G20, and he stopped in Ankara for
only a couple of hours. His visit was so low profile that one might
think he was an illegal migrant and not a president. That's why
President François Mitterand's visit in 1992 is still considered the
last official visit paid by a French president to Turkey.
If it is necessary to find a reason (not to say an excuse) to explain
why Hollande has to visit Turkey as soon as possible, one can come up
with a few ideas. Maybe Hollande himself does not like the idea that
any visit to Turkey would eventually be described as a shift in
France's policy regarding Turkey's accession to the EU. Maybe it would
be wiser to find another reason to justify this visit, an issue not
directly related to the EU accession process but that could, later on,
be helpful with regards to accession.
One reason Hollande could use for visiting Turkey without signaling a
shift in French policy would be to discuss the resuscitation of the
Union for the Mediterranean project. This partnership was supposed to
be a cooperation initiative but, thanks to Sarkozy's mishandling, it
has turned into a platform for rivalry and conflict. You may recall
that while describing the project, Sarkozy even made France's closest
allies in Europe very angry, and he failed to convince many countries
in the Mediterranean Basin that his proposed projects were worthwhile.
Besides, as he preferred to present the project as a viable
alternative to Turkey's EU membership, Turkey was furious over the
organization from day one.
If the Union for the Mediterranean is to be redesigned, not as an
alternative but as a starting point from which Turkey could join the
EU in the future, it can become a project for stability in which
France and Turkey can cooperate closely. In the EU enlargement process
towards Eastern Europe, Germany played a facilitating role in Poland's
accession. Why won't France do the same for Turkey? If it becomes the
country to carry Turkey into the EU, Turkey would not refuse France
with help in the Middle East in exchange. At a time when both
countries need to initiate rapprochement, the Union for the
Mediterranean may be a good place to start.
May 11 2012
France: a chance to restart
BERÄ°L DEDEOÄ?LU
[email protected]
The presidential elections in France were closely monitored in Turkey.
With the victory of socialist François Hollande, the most frequently
asked question now is how the election of this new president will
affect the future of French-Turkish relations. In order to improve
relations, both sides have to do their bit, which means Turkey mustn't
just wait and expect steps to be taken by France.
What initiatives can Turkey take in order to accelerate the process of
improvement? First of all, we must emphasize that under Hollande's
presidency, the main determiner of relations will not be whether or
not Turkey is a European nation, but whether or not Turkey respects
democratic values.
There were some people in Turkey who were `happy' with Nicolas Sarkozy
because he had turned his attention away from Turkey, resulting in an
absence of criticism over Turkey's problems with democracy. However,
from now on, Turkey should be ready to face much criticism, and it has
to be careful to avoid reacting harshly when it is criticized about
human rights, minority rights, transparency, the rule of law and the
Armenian `problem.'
If the two countries manage to build new bilateral relations based on
EU values, this will be beneficial and constructive for both of them.
Nevertheless, one has to admit that many ill intentions, prejudices,
misunderstandings and broken hearts have poisoned relations in the
last five years. In order to make a fresh start, one of them first
needs to show its goodwill.
Perhaps Hollande should include Turkey on his foreign visit list. We
recall that Sarkozy came to Turkey in February 2011, not as the French
president but as the head of the G20, and he stopped in Ankara for
only a couple of hours. His visit was so low profile that one might
think he was an illegal migrant and not a president. That's why
President François Mitterand's visit in 1992 is still considered the
last official visit paid by a French president to Turkey.
If it is necessary to find a reason (not to say an excuse) to explain
why Hollande has to visit Turkey as soon as possible, one can come up
with a few ideas. Maybe Hollande himself does not like the idea that
any visit to Turkey would eventually be described as a shift in
France's policy regarding Turkey's accession to the EU. Maybe it would
be wiser to find another reason to justify this visit, an issue not
directly related to the EU accession process but that could, later on,
be helpful with regards to accession.
One reason Hollande could use for visiting Turkey without signaling a
shift in French policy would be to discuss the resuscitation of the
Union for the Mediterranean project. This partnership was supposed to
be a cooperation initiative but, thanks to Sarkozy's mishandling, it
has turned into a platform for rivalry and conflict. You may recall
that while describing the project, Sarkozy even made France's closest
allies in Europe very angry, and he failed to convince many countries
in the Mediterranean Basin that his proposed projects were worthwhile.
Besides, as he preferred to present the project as a viable
alternative to Turkey's EU membership, Turkey was furious over the
organization from day one.
If the Union for the Mediterranean is to be redesigned, not as an
alternative but as a starting point from which Turkey could join the
EU in the future, it can become a project for stability in which
France and Turkey can cooperate closely. In the EU enlargement process
towards Eastern Europe, Germany played a facilitating role in Poland's
accession. Why won't France do the same for Turkey? If it becomes the
country to carry Turkey into the EU, Turkey would not refuse France
with help in the Middle East in exchange. At a time when both
countries need to initiate rapprochement, the Union for the
Mediterranean may be a good place to start.