MILLIYET- Columnist Hasan Cemal writes on Turkey’s EU membership bid and EU’s uncompromising attitude towards Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:
Will the European Union set a date for the start of accession talks which Turkey rightfully expects? The picture is terribly promising. It is very likely that the EU will insist on neglecting Turkey’s concerns in December’s Copenhagen Summit. Is this for certain? In other words, will the EU make another historical mistake about Turkey as it did in 1997’s Luxembourg Summit? For now such a probability persists. However, this is not to say that Turkey will receive a clear no from the EU. Our Parliament surprised the EU when it quite unexpectedly passed harmonization laws this August. Now the EU is a little bit confused about the current situation. On the one hand, they are heating up the bargain by declaring their dissatisfaction with what has been done up to now, and on the other, they are trying to gain some time to make up their minds about Turkey. There are things that they openly utter, and things that they just imply. Here is what they say: Turkey has an unconvincing past that it was unable to keep most of its promises. The passage of harmonization laws is an improvement but it is of no use if Turkey fails to put it into practice. Turkey has to try harder. When it comes to what they just imply: Cyprus, elections in Germany and in Turkey, and the question of the European identity of Muslim Turkey, etc. The EU is, of course, right in certain points and wrong in others. Moreover, Turkey has far more steps to take towards the EU. But for the moment this is not the question. There are 13 EU candidates, and the EU has opened accession talks with 12 of them, except for Turkey. The question is that when the EU initially started accession talks with these 12 countries, were all of them in a better state than Turkey in terms of their economy and political situation. The answer to this question is obvious to everyone who is wise and has a conscience. So, the EU can avoid falling into another great mistake only by setting out an exact date in Copenhagen Summit for the accession talks to begin. Exclusion of Turkey from Europe will do no good both to Turkey and Europe and will not serve peace and stability in the region.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION