BY OKAY GONENSIN
VATAN- The prospect of Turkey joining the European Union has provoked fierce debate in its member countries, with a decision looming by the end of this year on whether to start membership negotiations. Discussions are still continuing in the old continent over whether Ankara has made sufficient progress towards democratization.
In fact, the EU is expected to set a date for the opening of Ankara’s accession talks. ‘Let’s set a date but drag out the negotiations as long as possible,’ say certain EU circles.
Ankara acts as if its bid will end after its gets a date. If the EU really sets a date for Ankara, it would be a truly historic development. However, nothing will change unless Ankara abandons its post-date ‘mission accomplished’ mentality because our ultimate target is not merely starting talks, but actually joining the Union’s ranks.
There’s no need to recount the social and economic differences between Turkey and the old EU members. Everybody knows how the gap has widened even further over the last 35-40 years.
Charging that the EU is applying double standards, certain circles in Ankara argue that the Union’s just-inducted members actually look a lot like Turkey. The average per capita income in the longtime members is 25,000 euros. Adding in the new members, this average drops to 22,000 euros. Let’s take a closer look at the per capita income of some new EU members which are despised by certain circles in Ankara:
Slovenia: 17,700 euros The Czech Republic: 14,400 euros Hungary: 13,600 euros Estonia: 10,000 euros Poland: 9,500 euros Lithuania: 9,400 euros Latvia: 8,500 euros
Most of these countries were once a part of the Soviet bloc. Over the last 10 years they established their own democratic institutions and managed to improve their economies. Every citizen of thvery poorest of these countries, namely Latvia, is four times wealthier than ours. Therefore, Ankara’s mission won’t be accomplished merely by completing political and democratic reforms. Conversely, our ‘real’ duty will begin after resolving these problems. Until this huge economic gap is closed, Turkey will be kept waiting for EU membership.