BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- In Turkey, there is a group of conservatives who are supporters of the status quo and who weild certain authority. They never miss an opportunity to say that Turkey’s European Union membership would be a prelude to disaster. In addition, there are certain scientists and scholars here who are genuinely concerned that EU membership would ruin our system. However, such feelings can guide the path of neither nations nor peoples. In addition, certain risks voiced by these people are real, but without risk, there can be no progress.
Now the supporters of the status quo are trying to start arguments about the Cyprus issue, as they’re afraid it might be solved. They know that a solution would bring us closer to EU membership and that, conversely, failure to reach one would dampen our hopes.
As for the Europeans, they aren’t so willing to share their comforts with us Turks. However, their rulers know the value of Turkey’s membership and even its indispensability in certain respects. At least 51% of European countries think this way. We will face problems if the remaining 49% were to grow.
If we have such problems, we can forget about our EU membership. However, we cannot ignore Europe’s norms, criteria, principles, system and mentality.