Turkey Joining the European Union Essay Example for Free

Turkey Joining the European Union Essay In December 1999 Turkey became an official candidate for joining the EU, along with a number of other developing countries, mainly of Eastern Europe. After fundamental studies of current situation in Turkey and its future outlooks, followed by a series of negotiations between the representatives of Turkey and the EU, it became clear that it would take not less than a decade for Turkey to make necessary reformations and meet the Copenhagen criteria. There are different opinions on the issue of possible effects of Turkey joining the EU. The country has many proponents in its desire to create a common future with the EU. But some political, economic and cultural problems can create difficulties for Turkey on its way to the EU and can come out with unpredictable effects on social wellbeing of European nations. This work is an attempt to show that Turkey joining the EU can result in a number of negative and undesirable consequences, both for Turkey and for the European community. The population of Turkey exceeds 70 million people of diverse ethnic origins, and its major territories are located in Asian continent. Geostrategic location of Turkey is important, because the country controls navigation along the Bosporus and four seas nearby. Turkey has a long and dynamic history. The roots of Turkish nation go back to a number of early Asian civilizations united into the powerful Ottoman Empire. Modern history of Turkey started in the 1920s, when a military leader, Mustafa Ataturk, won the Independence war and founded the Republic setting the country on the way of democratic development and westernization. Current Turkish economy is a mix of heavy industry and traditional agriculture. Economic indexes show that the economy is quite poor (GDP is only $358.2 billion), but at the same time it is steadily developing (GDP growth rate is 5.2%) (CIA).   Principal industries are textile, food processing, construction, mining and electronics. Also, Turkey is one of the main importers of commodities from Germany, Russia, Italy, China, etc. Turkey has very advanced and up-to-date communication and transportation infrastructure, but the greatest asset of the country is its people, as well as their highly-respectable moral values. It is possible to name several major drawbacks which seriously influence the position of the EU countries toward granting Turkey the EU membership. Paul Kubicek writes in his study of the problem of Turkey’s accession to the EU: â€Å"Turkeys supposed shortcomings are well-known: it is too big, too poor, too agricultural, too authoritarian, and, perhaps above all, too Muslim† (Kubicek, p.33). A specialist from Stockholm University Harry Flam considers political reasons to be the most important obstacle (Flam, p. 171). According to the Copenhagen criteria, the EU membership requires: â€Å" stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities† (Flam, p. 175). For some last years political situation in the country has been changing since the Justice and Development Party came to the power. Its leader and current Prime-Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, proclaimed joining the EU to be one of his main political goals and directed the efforts on implementing necessary political reformations to meet the Copenhagen criteria. Turkish Constitution sets the military as the exclusive guarantor of internal security and empowers it to take over the situation in cases of political instability or a social crisis. Certainly, such crucial role of the military does not correspond to the idea of democracy, because army should be controlled by government. Nevertheless, Turkish authorities do not accept this position, being supported by public opinion. Another substantial political problem is minority and human rights. There is a large Kurdish minority with population of about 13 million people (around 20% of the country’s total population), which is concentrated in southeastern regions. Turkish government takes Kurdish nationalism as a serious threat to the existing integrity of the country. That is why Turkish laws prohibit official use of Kurdish language and other expressions of their cultural identity. For decades there were severe restrictions as to such issues as religious education, rights for communal property and others. Finally, one of the greatest obstacles on the way to the EU is refusal of Turkish government to recognize the Republic of Cyprus, a current member of the EU. Claiming for receiving the whole territory of the island, for some decades Turkey has been ignoring the Greek side of Cyprus. Therefore, as Turkey refuses to recognize a member of the EU, the negotiations with the European community can not be held. In addition, Turkey will have a dangerous impact on foreign policy of the EU bringing the borders of the Union closer to volatile Middle East. This may affect external political affairs of the EU. Economic factors are, probably, the most depressing. Turkish economy is making progress, but still remains very poor and the situation will not improve in the nearest future. Currently Turkey reached only 1.9% of EU25 GDP, and with average annual growth of 5%, it would be only 2.9% of GDP in 2015. Moreover, country’s GDP per capita is only 27% of the EU average (CIA). It is obvious that country with large population and poor economy will affect general economic situation of the EU. Turkey will need a lot of investments, budget transfers, special privileged tariffs, and other resources to stimulate country’s economy. A serious problem of Turkish economy, which is a point of concern of the EU specialists, is agriculture. Its contribution to GDP exceeds 14% and, at the same time, the majority of labor force (over 33%) employed in agriculture. But agriculture in Turkey needs considerable governmental support, which results in heavy taxation burden on national taxpayers. Turkey does not have a lot of arable lands, that’s why cultivation and farming are very expensive. Flam underlines possible problem for the European community, saying that â€Å"†¦the size of the Turkish agricultural sector threatens to be costly for EU taxpayers if Turkish farmers are to have the same terms as the farmers of the CCEC-8†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Flam, p. 186). Other disadvantages of Turkish economy include considerable regional inequality and necessity to restructure labor market. Overwhelming majority of Turkish industries is concentrated on the West and the North of the country, while Eastern parts rely more on agriculture and remain considerably underdeveloped. Turkish labor market needs to be reformatted in order to use its potential and improve low unemployment rates, especially among youth and women. Religious issue is, probably, the most controversial among the others. With its 98% Muslim population, Turkey will be the only non-Christian community in the EU. Undoubtedly, such a huge Muslim population will contribute to the development and acceptance of multiculturalism in the Union, but in a secular society this issue is rather complex. Turkey itself has a long history of serious difficulties and conflicts between religious leaders and the state. In addition, many specialists fear that Islamic conservatism and numerous traditional restrictions will cause serious pressure on personal freedoms. Many associate Muslim countries with terrorism and cruelty, but it can not be said about Turkey. The analysts argue that despite possible difficulties based on religious factor, prevalence of Islam in Turkey must not be a reason for Europe to turn its back to Turkey. Kirsten Hughes writes: â€Å"At a time, when the ‘war on terror’ is creating global tension †¦, Turkey’s relations to the EU take on a broad geopolitical significance.   A rejection of Turkey by the Union would be taken as a strong negative signal by many† (Hughes, p. 26). Many specialists suppose, that not only religious, but other cultural differences will bring to negative outcomes of Turkey’s assertion. They think that cultural problems may cause difficulties for Turkish population when integrating into the European community. Some years ago, the chairman of the European Convention on the Future of Europe, Giscard d’Estaing, said that he was against Turkish membership because Turkey had â€Å"a different culture, a different approach, a different way of life† and â€Å"its capital is not in Europe, 95 percent of its population is outside Europe, it is not a European country. (Flam, p.176)† Crowded Turkish Diaspora in Germany, which counts more than 2.5 million people, is the brightest example of this idea. Many Turks go to Germany in order to find better career opportunities and better-quality life. Turkish people get adapted to European life-style rather fast and, usually, express no desire to be back to their poor homelands, but very frequently serious cultural disconnections take place. Turkish immigrants reject European moral norms and customs and often their children have to stand for the consequences. That is why potential migration of Turkish people to the EU is considered as a serious threat to cultural unity of Europe. Europeans remember that after accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, thousands of people from these poor countries hurried up to move to Germany, France, Italy and other developed lands to find some work and earn some money. Recent researches demonstrated that if Turkey were accepted to the EU, about 44% of Turkish population would look for better job somewhere in Europe (Kubicek, p. 38). Demographic issues can also be taken both in favor and against Turkey. It has a good population growth rate (1,06%), and more than 25% of the population are children below 14 (CIA). Thus, Turkish nation is very young, and this is quite attractive for aging European community. But, on the other hand, in case of accession, Turkey will become the most crowded country in the EU. Therefore, it will take a large number of seats in the European Parliament and become a powerful player. That is undesirable for European parliamentarians, who are aware of inflexibility and intolerance of Turkish diplomats on many crucial issues. There are many other key matters, which remain in concern of the EU experts. They include the problems of meeting the requirements as to environmental standards, or the implementation of many democratic reforms, the problems of corruption, which is especially prevalent and deep-rooted in the highest levels of public sectors. Finally, a very important problem is limitation of the freedom of expression and censorship in Turkish media. Nevertheless, it must be mentioned that currently there is a great number of positive and progressive reforms are initiated in the country. In particular, educational opportunities are becoming more equal, that’s why teenagers and youth from different remote areas on the East are getting more socially mobile. Democratization, together with the increase in communication, is among the key factors, which brought to a rise in awareness. Therefore, according to the Copenhagen criteria, a sequence of political and social changes must be made by Turkish government in order to see the door to the EU opened. But still there is no guarantee for Turkey on its accession. Besides, with its decision regarding Turkey, the EU relies not only on the opinion of its members, but also on the idea of other major political powers, like the U.S. â€Å"In Washingtons eyes, Turkey has transformed from a Cold War bulwark against Soviet aggression into a critical bridge linking the industrialized Christian West to the pre-industrial Muslim East.† (Robbins, p.17). Some specialists can see possible benefits of Turkey joining the EU, especially for dynamic and developing European community. Paul Kubicek summarizes his research on the problem â€Å"Turkey the EU† with the following statement: â€Å"Turkish membership is at least another decade away and its accession is far from assured, but the very prospect of Turkish membership presents the EU with many challenges and opportunities† (Kubicek, p.32). Nevertheless, there are more problems and uncertainties which can create serious difficulties for Turkey and the EU both on internal and external stages. This thought is greatly summarized by Gerard Baker, who resumes that: â€Å"Fear of the economic consequences of admitting millions of relatively low-paid workers into the European labor market, together with rising concern over the dilution of European identity by an alien Middle Eastern culture makes the idea of Turkish membership highly unpopular† (Baker, p.26). Works Cited:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Baker, Gerard. Let’s Not Talk Turkey: Guess Who Won’t Be Joining the European Union Anytime Soon. The Weekly Standard. Vol. 010, Issue 46 29 Aug. 2005: 26-30 ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Flam, Harry. Turkey and the EU: Politics and Economic Accession. CESInfo Economic Studies. Vol. 50,   Jan. 2005: 171-210 ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hughes, K. Turkey and the European Union: Just Another Enlargement? Friends of Europe. The European Commission. June 2007. 3 Dec. 2007. http://www.friendsofeurope.org/pdfs/TurkeyandtheEuropeanUnion-WorkingPaperFoE.pdf. ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kubicek, Paul. Turkish Accession to the European Union: Challenges and Opportunities. World Affairs. Vol. 3 Fall 2005: 32-41 ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Robbins, Gerald. Germans Are Talking Turkey; The European Union Is In No Rush to Expand Into Anatolia. The Weekly Standard. Vol. 010, Issue 44 2 Aug. 2006: 16-17  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Turkey. Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. 15 Mar. 2007. 3 Dec. 2007. https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tu.html.