BY BULENT KENES
TODAY'S ZAMAN- Together with the administrators of several newspapers, I met with Turkey's chief European Union negotiator, State Minister Egemen Bagis, and a number of diplomats and bureaucrats also involved in EU negotiations over breakfast on Wednesday morning at the historic Esma Sultan Yalisi on the Bosporus.
Most recently, a similar meeting had convened on July 7, when we had the opportunity to hear from Bagis, who had been assigned to his position on Jan. 8, about his EU vision and ask him some questions. Of course our main focus that day was what the government was going to do with regard to the stalled EU reform process, which began in 2005. We could have repeated those same questions on this fine Wednesday morning, but for some reason, nobody wanted to broach the topic; at this point, the answers are all so rehearsed.
The youngest member of the Cabinet, Bagis is a rather dynamic, self-confident minister who injects energy into his surroundings and articulates his thoughts well. I'm sure that these characteristics are beneficial during negotiations and have the effect of making up for any shortcomings he has in terms of diplomacy. Despite dozens of negative messages coming from EU capitals and dozens of roadblocks set up against opening new chapters (involving Cyprus, Greece and France), Bagis dove into negotiations with both feet and expended an incredible amount of energy -- and perhaps the reason for this lies in his unfailing belief in Turkey's EU bid. We all know that every member of the government, including the prime minister, carries a positive opinion with regard to the EU bid, but I honestly haven't come across anyone who is as enthusiastic and yearns for it as much as Bagis.
Meeting with newspaper administrators with a great zest provided by the recent success in Brussels in opening one of the hardest chapters, the one on the environment, in a sense Bagis evaluated 2009 and performed a self-assessment in front of the media. He spoke about what the government had done and had not been able to do during the year, emphasizing how the current Constitution has kept the modern era in shackles and needs to be changed immediately. Bagis touched upon the interruptions in the EU reform process that occurred in 2007 and 2008 due to problems that arose during the presidential election and the closure case opened against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) following the general elections, saying that developments in 2009 had inspired hope and that most of these developments were included in the EU's Turkey progress report.
Bagis said that with the passage of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU had become more democratic, transparent and effective and more prepared for the opportunities and threats faced in our century. He spent a great deal of time explaining how Turkey's membership process would be positively affected by the institutionalization of the EU's central policies within this framework. He repeated his hope that when the EU's internal order was strengthened to the level of increased functionality and more active contribution to problem solving, a more fertile ground would be created for Turkey's integration.
Underlining that their own research had shown that around 60 percent of the Turkish public support the EU bid, while 34 percent oppose it, Bady_ said they had begun to implement an effective communication strategy directed at both segments in Turkey who look at the EU with suspicion and circles in Europe who oppose Turkish membership. According to the Eurobarometer study, it can be plainly seen by the rate of domestic support for EU membership, which has fallen as low as 46 percent, that the benefits union membership would bring have not been explained fully during the EU bid. Data from the Transatlantic Trends survey completed by the German Marshall Fund of the United States also make it very clear that such a communication strategy is necessary. According to the results of this survey, while 60 percent of Turks support EU membership, only 40 percent believe it will actually happen. While 40 percent of Europeans support Turkish membership, a full 60 percent believe that Turkey will become a member, despite their own opposition. This paradoxical situation indicates a shared problem of trust and shows how important a communication strategy is, both domestically and in Europe.
Bagis' words during the meeting also expressed well why EU membership, or the things to be accomplished during the membership bid, are a panacea to all of Turkey's ailments. In my opinion, there's no alternative to clinging to the rope of the EU given Turkey's current state of extreme polarization, with distrust on the rise between segments of society and institutions; the nation is being dragged toward a dead-end. Using Bagis' words, those who fear coups, those who fear Shariah, those who fear extreme liberalism or its opposite, extreme state intervention and control -- all of these people should hang onto the EU with all their might. The EU may not be a panacea for all ills, but there's no other medicine around.