BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI
STAR- The wheels of the European Union are turning smoothly. Everybody was expecting the European Commission’s recommendation on Turkey to take its own stance on the issue. Once the report was issued, the EU has started to apply the proper procedures without any hitches.
The first step was taken by Luxembourg, the country due to take over the Union’s term presidency next January. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker recently sent a message to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stating that they were planning to set April 26, 2005 as the beginning date of Turkey’s membership talks. Moreover, an identical message came from Britain. ‘Luxembourg wants to officially start Turkey’s membership negotiations in the first half of 2005,’ said British Foreign Minister Jack Straw during his recent visit to Ankara. ‘However, if the process is delayed due to red tape, then Britain will have the honor to initiate the talks in the second half of 2005’ (when it is term president).
But, is there any chance that Turkey will face new conditions and demands from the EU? For example, the Greek Cypriots might demand that we officially recognize their presence. However, although they believe this step is an inevitable one for Turkey, EU diplomats are currently saying that taking it cannot be set as a condition for starting our talks.
Moreover, EU officials are underlining that the real aim of the criticisms and warnings included in the commission report is easing the fears of European conservatives. According to these officials, most European countries have serious concerns about Turkey’s membership, which is why the report stresses that Ankara’s negotiations will be a long and open-ended process that can be suspended if the EU finds Turkey backtracking on human rights or democratization.
Since Premier Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul have recently shown an understanding of these concerns, they are now regarded as ‘truly European leaders’ within EU circles. According to one EU official, focusing on the positive elements of the commission’s recommendation constitutes a truly European act.
But what should we do now? In the past, our leaders failed to build healthy links with EU leaders, but Erdogan has recently bridged the communications gap between the two parties. Now it’s time for the Turkish nation to present itself to its European counterparts, which means mobilizing all of our resources for a national promotion campaign.