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Background: The relationship of the European Union (EU) to its new eastern and southern neighbors is important for the EU existence and credibility. The possible accession of new members especially Turkey to the European Union (EU) will dramatically change the political, economic and social set up of the European Union. Turkeys accession to the EU will extend Europes boarders to unstable and undemocratic !ran and #yria ($inan, %&&', ()'*). iddle East countries like !ra",

a+or pressing issues about Turkeys accession to

the European Union range from economic, demographic, geographical, political and human rights. ,ne commonly raised point is Turkeys population. -hen Turkey +oins the EU, Turkey would become one of the most populated member state by 2015 (Nas, 2004, p.4). Turkey.s current population is /) million, and is expected to increase to 0&10' million in the next %& years (EU, %&&2). This compares with the largest current EU member state 3ermany, which has 04 million people today, but whose population is pro+ected to decline. 5nother argument is rooted in the debate on whether it is possible to establish geographic borders for Europe, and whether Turkey .fits. within these borders ($inan, %&&', (.)24). (erhaps the most sensiti6e of all arguments centre on the cultural and religious differences. #ince the EU identifies itself as a cultural and religiously tolerant society, Turkey.s EU bid should not be compromised by cultural differences.

The EU member states. concerns o6er Turkey.s human rights record as well as global and regional security1related issues ha6e also been key factors behind Turkey.s prolonged application process ((hillips, %&&', (. 0*17/). 8uxemburg (rime1 inister 9ean1:laude 9unker referred to Turkey as ;5 country in which torture is still a common practice cannot ha6e a seat at the table of the European Union<. !n ;:lash of :i6ili=ation<, #amuel >untington describes Turkey as a ;torn :ountry<. >untington ()774), referred to ;Torn :ountries<, as those that ;ha6e a fair degree of cultural homogeneity but are di6ided o6er whether their society belongs to one ci6ili=ation or another< (p.2%). >untington ()774), argued that Turkey is a torn country which since the early )7%&s has been trying to -esterni=e in order become part of the -est, though its culture and tradition is different from the -estern (p.2%). Turkeys leaders ha6e greatly supported turkey to transform to -estern :i6ili=ation, but some Turks prefer Turkey to remain a Turkey being a predominantly uslim society. 5ccording to >untington ()774),

uslim country and the -est being :hristian, Turkey will

ne6er be accepted as a European :ountry (p.2%). Turkey started its effort to +oin the European Economic :ommunity in )7*4 by signing the 5nkara 5ssociation 5greement in )7*4. !n )70/, Turkey filed an application for membership to the European :ommunity but was re+ected by the European Economic :ommunity ($inan, %&&', )'*). ?irisci (%&&') asserted that some EU members argued that e6en if Turkey was granted membership for a single day, it was not ready to meet EU members standards and obligations (p.%). >owe6er, this argument has been pro6en

wrong by Turkish politicians. Turkey initiated reforms o6er the years and has managed to accomplish a great deal of success economically and politically.

!n )77', the EU suggested for a :ustoms Union with Turkey which came into effect in)77*.:ustom duties on goods from the E.U. countries were remo6ed and the European Unions :ommon External Tariff for third countries was introduced. Turkeys effort to integrate in the European Union fell short of Turkeys expectation but it gradually embarked on the transformation process to become a democratic, modern and secular state (?irisci, %&&').

5ccording to ?ubicek (%&&'), at the end of the :old -ar, European leaders embarked on the enlargement of Europe by considering (ost1:ommunist states. Turkeys leaders were optimistic during the EUs enlargement process that their candidature will be considered (p.%). The EU argued that the (ost1:ommunist countries fulfilled the :openhagen :riteria and thatTurkey still lagged behind in democratic reform and respect for human rights (?irisci, %&&'). 5ccording to (hillips (%&&4), :openhagen :riteria are @ules that re"uire all would1be EU member countries to guarantee democracy and respect for human rights, rule of law and protection of minorities (p.72). :openhagen :riteria is based on the )774 EU commission report that stipulated guidelines and conditions that must be fulfilled before an aspiring EU candidate country can be considered for accession ($inan, %&&', (.)2/).

2 The :openhagen criteria stipulates that for a candidate country to be considered for accession, it must ha6e a strong democratic institution, respect for minority rights and rule of law, a free market economy and to accept a common European defense and foreign policy ($inan, %&&', (. )20).

?irisci (%&&2), argued that Turkeys exclusion from membership negotiations in )77/ disappointed many Turks (p.4). 5ccording to $inan (%&&'), EU decision to consider accession negotiations with other under de6eloped former communist countries like Aulgaria and @omania was unfair to the Turkish go6ernment. !n response, Turkish go6ernment se6ered diplomatic relationship with the European Union and threatened to hinder :yprus reunification process ($inan, (. )'*). ?ubicek (%&&'), pointed out that Turkeys continuous effort to democratic reform and respect for human rights con6inced European leaders in )777(>elsinki #ummit) to appro6e Turkey as a candidate country.

!n $ecember %&&2 the European council agreed to begin Turkeys accession negotiations to the European Union. >owe6er, some original EU member countries ha6e made it clear that Turkeys full membership will be gradual and will not be complete until %&)2 ($inan, %&&', p.)'/). Turkeys accession is considered to be open1ended and some European member countries, notably Brance proposed a referendum in EU member countries before Turkey can be accepted as a new EU member. Brance proposal is to grant Turkey with a ;#pecial #tatus< membership while 3ermanys 6ersion is that of a ;pri6ileged partnership< ((hillips, %&&2, (.).

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$ue to pressure to meet the :openhagen :riteria, Turkey embarked on extensi6e political reforms and impro6ed its human rights record. 5ccording to (hillips (%&&2), Turkey eased restrictions on freedom of press and association. #igned and ratified the (rotocol * and )4 of the European :on6ention on >uman @ights< (p.72). Turkeys political and legislati6e reforms resulted into the abolition of the death penalty to conform to the European laws, reduced the influence of the military in go6ernment and ?urdish minority rights were e6entually respected by the Turkish go6ernment ((hilips.%&&2).!t can be argued that without Turkeys strong commitment to +oin the European Union, dramatic political, economical, legal and human rights reforms would not ha6e been easily undertaken.

The significance of Turkey to the EU is its strategic location to the

uslim world. uslim

5ccording to 3arton (%&&%), Turkeys integration to the EU will pro6e to the

world that !slam and democracy can :o1exist (p.)4). The 6astness of Turkey will pro6ide the E.U with the opportunity to ad6ance democratic principle and peace to the iddle

East and :entral 5sia (3arton, %&&%), 3arton 5sserted that Turkeys membership to the EU is in relation with the ;-ar 5gainst Terrorism< (p.)4). 5ccording to ?ubicek (%&&') Turkeys strong military capability will also act as a stabili=ing force against unstable Europes neighbors (p.)4).

(hillips (%&&2), confirmed that Turkish business community considers the accession to the EU as an a6enue for Turkey to continue its economic reforms in order to meet

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* European #tandards (p.74). ?irisci (%&&2) argued that due to pressure from the EU, Turkey has impro6ed its market1 economy by introducing deflation measures and promote an export1oriented strategy to achie6e economic de6elopment (p.2). ,n the hand European business leaders will easily tap Turkeys market of /& million people and easy access to a relati6ely cheap labor force (?irisci, %&&2). The initiati6e will also strengthen the competiti6eness of European firms interested in cutting down production cost by setting up manufacturing plants in Turkey to take ad6antage of cheap labor.

5nother significance of Turkeys accession to the European Union is the demographic aspect of Europe. Europes birth rate is low and its population is aging. !n contrast, Turkeys population is younger and relati6ely educatedC this pro6ides the EU with the opportunity to utili=e Turkeys labor force (Tusiad, %&&2). >owe6er, this phenomenon also plays against Turkeys accession to the EU because most European considers Turks cheap labor as a threat to Europes employment and other social benefits.

The prospect of Turkey e6er +oining the European Union is still undetermined. (hillips (%&&2), argued that howe6er much Turkey tries to meet the conditions set by the European Union, Europeans will not accept a uslim country to +oin a ;:hristian :lub<

(p.7'). This was stressed by Brits Aolkestein (Bormer EU :ommissioner) who referred to Turkey as a ; uslim threat to Europe<. >e argued that ;Ukraine and Aelarus were more European than Turkey and that Europe risk becoming predominantly !slamic< (?ubicek, %&&').

5ccording to ?ubicek, (%&&'), Turkey has a different culture and history which dis"ualifies it from passing the ;Europeaness ;test. >e also argued that since only 'D of Turkey population li6es inside ;Europe< (!n relation to the European map), Turkey does not fit to be in the European Union (p.))). #ome Europeans belie6e that Turkey is different and this will result into future problems in the EU decision Emaking structure ((hillips, %&&). (hillips (%&&2) argued that bringing in Turkey to the European Union will result into tremendous burden to the Europeans (p. 7*). Bor Example, Turkey being so big and poor, 6ast portion of EU de6elopment fund will end up being channeled to Turkey. any current EU members accessing EU de6elopment fund and other social

policy program feel threatened by Turkeys membership because a big portion of the assistance may be di6erted to Turkey. The often cited argument against Turkeys accession to the EU is that Turkey is poised to create a new balance of power in the European Union.

Therefore, in order to down play European concerns o6er Turkey, European leaders ha6e come up with different 6ersions of Turkeys accession to the European Union. 5ccording to (hillips (%&&2), 3ermany and Brance ha6e come up with different proposal that fall short of Turkeys full membership to the European Union. Bor example Brance proposed a ;#pecial #tatus< and 3ermany prefers a ;(ri6ileged (artnership< to be accorded to Turkey ((hillips, %&&2, p.7*). >owe6er, Turkish leaders are determined for nothing less than full European membership. ?ubicik (%&&'), agreed that the European Union is using double standards in dealing with Turkey accession to the EU. Bor example, Brance is

ad6ocating for EU member states to conduct a referendum before Turkey can +oin the European Union.

Conclusion: Turkey has undergone se6eral political, economical and social reforms to satisfy the :openhagen :riteria. The progress made by Turkey in meeting the :openhagen :riteria is a clear indication of Turkeys strong leadership and commitment towards European membership. >owe6er, further effort is still needed in the moderni=ation of its economy, legal reform and the respect for >uman @ights. ,n the other side, Europe should take a positi6e position in the accession negotiations and not use the pretext of culture and religion to slow down the negotiations of Turkeys accession to the European Union.

Turkey should be pro6ided with the same terms and a le6eled ground during the accession negotiations like the terms gi6en to the former East Europeans countries like (oland, >ungary, 8at6ia, :=ech @epublic etc. The negati6e decision of the accession talks would be harmful to the strategic alliance of Turkey and the EU. Turkeys accession will also be important in boosting economic and trade links between the EU and Turkey neighbors with abundant natural resources and energy reser6es. Turkish membership to the EU will also send a strong message to the with uslim world that European can coexist

uslim despite their cultural and religious differences.

7 ,ne can rightly conclude that with the new wa6e of anti1!slamic sentiments and high unemployment rate in Europe, Turkey is 6iewed by many Europeans as a threat to their social and economic welfare and many Europeans are doubtful of Turkeys prospect to a full EU membership. Turkeys big si=e and its 6ast poor population is a threat to the EU social policy (:ommon 5griculture (olicy and other policies) because it will attract more de6elopment funds that would otherwise been allocated to other member countries. !t is also belie6ed that failure of the EU constitution referendum in Brance and Fetherlands can be attributed to Turkeys EU bid and the enlargement process in general.

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