BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA
AKSAM- If we look at our move towards Westernization as a very long marathon, now we find ourselves near the beginning of a new and special stage. We’ll be able to finish the marathon if we can get accepted as a full European Union member. Not just any result would be success, only this one. Just after the fall 2002 general elections, when Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul served as caretaker prime minister for ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan took a tour of European countries plus the US, China, Russia and Japan. Those visits marked a historic period. The government put priority on our EU bid as its top project. Now we will watch the countdown in Brussels. We’re seeing a busy traffic of negotiations and shuttle diplomacy across European capitals. Everyday there are new drafts whose only aim is finding a middle ground for Turkey and the EU. You can rest assured it will be found. There’s no problem with Friday’s EU summit. It’s the day after which is key. In order to see this, we should grasp the real character of Turkey’s love for the EU. Why does Turkey want this EU membership? We’re not looking for our identity, as some people, even most Europeans, seem to think. We’re knocking on the doors of the EU only to catch up to European standards, improve our quality of life and become modern and civilized. We want to join the EU in order to raise our educational level, ensure equal opportunities and cultivate a better citizenry. We already have an identity.
Turkey is a young but strong democratic republic with a population of 70 million on a large geography. We’ve been making efforts to become an EU member for 40 years now, enacting reform packages for five years, and experiencing an extraordinary process of change for two years. Of course we’ve made some mistakes. For example, we’re trying to effect change through politics while ignoring mentalities and culture. We consider Westernization a means of escape. The process of our EU membership talks won’t be easy.