BY ULUC GURKAN
STAR- The French are going to vote for the EU Constitution, but they are arguing about Turkey instead. They seem to be unable to decide whether approving the Constitution means accepting Turkey as a member of the Union. Due to this uncertainty, the referendum question gets thornier with each passing day.
This uncertainty also seems to bother France’s socialists, which have publicly declared that approving the Constitution doesn’t mean vetting Turkey’s EU membership.
The declaration implied that Turkey has to give up on Cyprus and admit the Armenian ‘genocide’ claims.
The socialists don’t claim that Turkey’s EU membership is impossible. Instead, they imply that Turkey will have to obey the impositions of the long-forgotten Treaty of Sevres in order to join the Union.
When it comes to Turkey’s admission to the EU, there’s not much difference between these socialists and the Christian democrats. European Convention President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a Christian democrat, still sees Turkey as just a neighbor to the EU.
This negative mood towards Turkey’s EU membership is not limited to France. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn last week said that Turkey’s path towards the EU will be ‘long, rocky and full of sharp turns.’ Speaking at a Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) meeting in Istanbul, Rehn told his listeners that Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus in order to move on to membership talks. ‘This is one of the preconditions set by the commission,’ he said.
Turkey must recognize Greek Cyprus, and what else? It’s obvious that the EU is also trying to add the Armenian ‘genocide’ claims to its list of preliminary terms. Another precondition is that Turkey must implement ‘political reforms’ in its southeast. I wonder if his audience asked what Rehn meant by ‘political reforms.’
We have come to this point by doing without question whatever the EU asks us to do. But we can’t go on this way. We have to learn how to negotiate with the EU, as well as with the rest of the world. Turkish businessmen and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must join the government in its efforts to carry out negotiations with the EU. We need such a conscious campaign in our path towards the EU.