MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the recent developments regarding early elections and their influence on Turkey's EU membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:
How will early elections influence Turkey's EU membership bid? If the Parliament is called for an extraordinary session in September as Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli suggested and elections are held on Nov. 3, can Turkey get a date from the EU for the start of its accession negotiations? Or will Turkey miss the EU train amongst all this chaos? These questions were posed to Spanish Foreign Minister Josef Pique, whose nation has just completed its duty as EU term president, yesterday at the Foreign Economic Relations Council's (DEIK) meeting in Istanbul. The Spanish foreign minister's answer shows that whether there are elections or not, the start of the membership process depends on Turkey's resolve to comply with the Copenhagen criteria. In other words, the holding of elections in November will make it more difficult for a date to be given at the Copenhagen summit in December. Meetings with other EU officials confirm this impression. That is to say, holding elections in November will weaken Turkey's chances of getting a decision in favor of Turkey in December. Excepting that, the Parliament should convene earlier and pass reform laws before such elections. Otherwise, focusing only on elections and leaving issues regarding the EU aside, Turkey will lose its chance for membership. Spanish Foreign Minister Pique said that if elections are held in November and a government capable of fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria doesn't come into power, it will be hard for the EU to set a date. He added that the uncertainty prevailing for some time was causing concern in the EU and continued, 'In this situation it is very hard for the EU to decide in Turkey's favor.... However, you can recover the time lost in the end if only positive messages come from Turkey. We shall continue to help Turkey but it has to help us too...' EU officials who would like Turkey to get a date at the Copenhagen summit suggest that the reform laws complying with the Copenhagen criteria should be passed as soon as possible. If elections are to be held in November and no arrangements regarding the Copenhagen criteria are made, we should not expect for any decision concerning Turkey's membership in the EU. It can be asked what if the membership is postponed till 2003? The crux of the matter is that in December the EU's new enlargement policy will be decided upon. The admittance of 10 new countries is in question. If a date for accession negotiations is not given before then, the chance of deciding on such an opportunity later gets weaker. In fact, no such decision may emerge. Notwithstanding all these negative factors, it is still possible to catch the EU train. If the Parliament could be convened as soon as possible, and reform laws were passed before the elections, the country will be nearer to its goal. Then the EU issue cannot be exploited in the coming political elections. This duty falls on the political parties in favor of Turkey's admittance into the EU and non-governmental organizations...
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION