Members of the same team

By Yusuf Kanli
TDN- Erdogan stressed in his post `yes` remarks that Turkey and the EU were now in the same team, not adversaries. We hope that will be the conviction of EU leaders, particularly when they meet on Dec. 17 to decide whether or not to give a date for Turkish accession talks

Late Turgut Ozal was perfectly right when he had declared "This is a long, narrow and winding road" moments after Turkey applied for full membership of the EU. The EU Commission`s recommendation Wednesday confirming that Turkey has sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen political criteria and accession talks with it could be launched, was just yet another turning point on that long and winding road, which uppears at the same time is an uphill one.
The strings attached to the recommendation did not and could not please Ankara but they were reflecting the deep worries of the European capitals to the great challenges culturally, politically as well as economically Turkish accession would pose to the old continent.
If those conditions and the dangling sword that if Turkey retracted systematically from its reform process talks would be suspended were aimed at stalling the accession talks process and prolong it, everyone must be self assured that they will serve as a catalyst to quicken the accession talks process and enable Ankara to complete accession at a much earlier date than anticipated.
The conditions and dangling sword will make it difficult for Ankara to go around the difficulties and waste precious time with makeshift solutions, but rather force it to encounter the difficulties head on and provide acceptable settlements which indeed will accelerate the mental mindset revolution required in this country for eventual EU membership.
Without a mental mindset revolution, which will be much harder than the so-called "silent revolution" boasted by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey`s EU accession process could never be completed. A Turkey allocating a minute fraction of its national budget to education, health or to other fundamental social fields cannot find itself a place in the family of European nations either today or tomorrow.
Reform of the political system -- particularly the election and political party laws -- in a manner to enable reflection of the national will to Parliament, eradication of the dictatorship of leaders in political parties and re-arrangement of civilian and military roles in the administration of the country were sine qua nons of the period that we will enter with getting a date for accession talks from the EU Council in December.
We will change a lot in this process. The changes we will undergo will not be confined to the texts of some laws, but will go right down into the social fabric of the society and state. We will have to change our mindset. We would not undergo these changes because they would be imposed on us by Europeans, but rather we would do them because they are the rules of the game of the club we are vyeing to join.
Erdogan stressed in his post "yes" remarks that Turkey and the EU were now in the same team, not adversaries. We hope that will be the conviction of EU leaders, particularly when they meet on Dec. 17 to decide whether or not to a give a date for Turkish accession talks.
The EU will change as well during this period. The first important sign of change in the EU was indeed delivered on Wednesday. The recommendation of the commission to the EU Council to start accession talks with Turkey was not a decision confined to Turkey talks only but was at the same time a declaration that the EU was changing its direction from a club of Christian nations into a multi-cultural, multi-religious political project.
Both the EU and Turkey will be facing serious challenges of change along the accession talks process and acting like members of the same team will help reduce the pains of this uphill trip together. That is in the best interests of both Turkey and the EU.