Case Study: Turkey a challenge to the EU

Interview with Turkey's EU ambassador: membership will disprove "clash of civilisations"

In Short:
Turkey is indispensable to the EU's foreign policy ambitions, says Turkey's EU ambassador
Oguz Demiralp in an exclusive interview with EurActiv.
Background:
In spite of the recent highly critical Oostlander report of the European Parliament, Turkey's
ambassador to the EU remains confident and full of fighting spirit. In an exclusive interview with
EurActiv he argued the case for opening up negotiations on his country's accession to the EU at
the EU summit in December 2004.
"If Turkey joins the EU, it will project stability to the region, it will prove that democracy,
human rights and European values do work in a Muslim country. By itself it will establish a
model to be followed for the surrounding regions. The thesis of the clash of civilisations will
prove to be a fallacy. It's the best argument to terrorist groups who seek a pretext for their acts in
the differences between countries."
"As a NATO member Turkey has played a vital role in the defence of Europe since the early
fifties. We support European Security and Defence Policy, and we will be a net contributor to this
area," says Demiralp, adding that in the field of natural gas and oil, Turkey's proximity to the
main regions of production will ensure the safety of supply routes for Europe.
He also thinks that it will be much easier to defend Europe: "Turkey will, so to say, be a strong
shield against waves of instability which could come from these unstable regions. Europe now
has the intention of becoming a global actor in the world. It cannot be so without Turkey."
He downplays the challenging task of the EU to enlarge yet again to take in Turkey, favouring a
broader perspective: "EU will find the best way to cope with the consequences of enlargement,
but it is inevitable that the enlargement will also have to include Turkey. It is a strategic
necessity for the survival of Europe in the future. You have to see it from a larger historical
perspective. In the face of globalisation, the EU cannot stay as a small union of Western
European countries only."
Confronted with a recent survey that found 62 per cent of Turks thinking that the EU is applying
double standards on the question of Turkish membership, he says:
"Public perception is not only decided by the Council and the Commission. Turkish people also
hear the voices coming from parliamentarians and different politicians, who do question our
status as a future member. That certainly puzzles public opinion. And in the past there have been
times when double standards have been applied to Turkey - take the 1997 December summit,
where Turkey was refused candidacy status. It was redressed two years later, but it is in the
public memory. And we also hear remarks from different corners that question decisions taken at
EU Summits."
Demiralp will not speculate on the consequences of a 'no' to Turkey. He says that Turkey is
working on the assumption that the EU will take a positive decision: "Read the Copenhagen
Summit conclusions. If we go on the basis of the principle on which European civilisation is
based, it is very simple: If Turkey fulfils the political criteria, we start negotiations without
delay within a few months. And there should not be a negative vote."

Turkeys EU ambassador calmly dismisses the importance of the highly critical Oostlander
report from the European Parliament:
"The Oostlander report does not pose an obstacle to us. If you compare it with last year's report,
you will see a lot of improvement. There are remaining items, we acknowledge that, but they
should we completed in the next few months to come, they should not be exaggerated. In April
there will be new bills adopted in the Turkish Parliament based on the Commission's report from
las year."
He reacts to a perception that the use of torture is still a persistent problem in Turkey, by putting
the bonus on the EUs own problems in this respect:
"I don't want to give names, but there are also EU countries that have problem with torture. You
are inclined to take for granted that EU Member States respect Human Rights, which is not the
case. One of the main shortcomings in the EU institutions is there is no self monitoring of
Human Rights. President Romano Prodi proposed an agency for the surveillance of Human
Rights in EU. We support that. Nevertheless I should underline that the Turkish Government has
adopted and successfully been implementing 'zero tolerance' policy against cases of
mistreatment. Radical Legislative changes are therefore being translated into life."
On the perspective of Turkey soon becoming the biggest Member State in an enlarged EU on
the basis of the current Turkish population of 65 million and its growth rate of 1.43 per cent
compared to EU's currently biggest Member State, Germany with a population of 82 million and
growth rate of 0.04 per cent, he says:
"Could be, could not be - according to statistics the Turkish population will stabilise at around
85-90 million people," he says and adds that "Germany is also growing. And if you analyse
mathematical studies on the so called 'qualified majority' issue, there are studies which
conclude that the main problem would be solved in much easier manner if Turkey were a
member, because the percentage between big and other countries would get narrower. Turkey
would then have a vote 7-8 per cent like other big countries."
On the question of whether Demiralp understands the fear in parts of EU populations that say
that Turkish people are Muslims and thus not really like Europeans, he comments:
"That is not a European approach, I can understand it, but I cannot accept. And if you think that a
Greek is closer to a Swede than he is to a Turk, then you are completely wrong. EU means
diversity in unity. That is the founding principle of the EU. If your European values are
considered as universal values by us, and if you then go on to think that European values cannot
apply in a Muslim country because Muslims are bound to remain different then that is the
bankruptcy of European civilisation. We try to explain and discuss and make our case. We try to
explain to the Europeans what European values are. They are not limited to Christians, other
modern nations can adhere to them too."
www.euractiv.com (Published: Tuesday 13 April 2004)
ntrebarea 1:
Avnd n vedere avantajele i dezavantajele aderrii Turciei la UE, n calitatea de ceteni ai
Uniunii, ai vota pentru sau mpotriva aderrii Turciei la UE?
ntrebarea 2:
n ce fel ar fi afectate interesele Romniei (pozitiv / negativ), ca stat membru al UE, n cazul n
care, dup 2010, Turcia ar deveni membr a Uniunii Europene?