The E.U. Issue Has To Do With Our Bread Money

MILLIYET- Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey’s EU membership bid. A summary of his column is as follows:
It seems that the parliamentary elections on Nov. 3 will serve as a referendum on the EU issue. Actually, excepting a few marginal groups, there is no party in Turkey which opposes our EU membership. Even some parties which had characterized the EU as hostile are now supporting Turkey’s EU membership. However, the degree of this desire and support varies among the parties. Some of them take the necessary criteria for EU membership into consideration and fully support them. Others always start their sentences, ‘yes, but …’ and then lay down conditions. This situation appeared clearly with the disagreements concerning such sensitive issues as the death penalty and Kurdish broadcasting and education. Now, when Parliament is getting ready for the EU harmonization laws, political disputes have been added to this basic ideological dispute. It has been gotten to the point that no one can predict whether the democratic regulations called ‘EU laws’ will be approved as a package or instead some of them are accepted and others rejected … If the EU laws package is not enacted at Parliament as is, we can be sure that this issue will be used as fodder during the elections campaign. Particularly the sensitive issues will be ripe for demagogical disputes. Some people will say, ‘We tried to modernize and relieve Turkey, but they prevented us.’ Others will say, ‘We protected our sovereignty and national integrity, but our opponents acted submissively.’ How should one interpret that the democratic reforms meant to open the path for Turkey’s negotiations with the EU are reflected on such an important platform of elections? At first, the issue might be considered a political problem and one might think that when the citizens are suffering from economic difficulties, they wouldn’t be interested in such complex issues as our EU bid. However, various polls also show that the Turkish nation is closely interested in the EU and that it is supporting Turkey’s EU membership. The reason for this is that the EU is not only a political issue, as some believe. The EU is tightly connected with the Turkish nation’s daily life, problems, future and hopes for a better life. The politicians should understand this. Turkey’s EU project is too important to be left to speeches on the elections trail and tactical games in Parliament, because this issue is about the lives of the Turkish people. Let’s consider this subject from another angle: If Turkey waves aside the ‘EU laws,’ that is, the reforms that will increase the Turkish nation’s standards in politics and economics, its EU membership prospects will grow dim. It will be impossible for a Turkey outside the EU to solve its economic problems. Turkey won’t be able to attract necessary foreign economic support, loans and investments. Then it will be impossible for the Turkish people to solve its various problems, including inflation and unemployment. Therefore the EU issue is also closely related with our ‘bread money.’ Therefore the Parliament’s and political parties’ stance towards issue is of the utmost importance.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION