BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
TURKIYE- The European Union’s new Constitution was signed in Rome on Friday by the presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers of the 25 EU member states. The 81st anniversary of the Turkish Republic fell on the same day. Candidate countries Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania only signed the Constitution, which will go into effect in 2009, in its final stage. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul signed on Turkey’s behalf. Bulgaria and Romania are due to become EU members soon, and Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania will apply for membership. What will Russia’s stance be? How close to the EU will Turkey be in 2009?
The European Economic Community, the EU’s forerunner, was first established with the 1957 Treaty of Rome. In 1962, Prime Minister Ismet Inonu declared Turkey’s intention to join. Last week Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok advised caution in the leadup to the Dec. 17 EU summit. Friday’s signing ceremony was a self-confident, simple but magnificent event surrounded by remnants of the Roman Empire. Europe was united as a single power for the first time in 2,000 years. However, the EU’s total defense budget is less than that of the US. Likewise, the current EU isn’t the world’s greatest military power, as Rome was 2,000 years ago. The new EU Constitution needs to be approved in member states’ Parliaments or else through public referendums. This Constitution will be discussed through 2009, and certain of its articles could be changed.