STAR- Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli comments on Turkish-EU relations and Turkey’s EU membership bid. A summary of her column is as follows:
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel recently spent 10 intense days in Washington discussing a number of sensitive matters such as the Iraq issue with US officials. He also held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from European, Middle Eastern and Arab countries as well as United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He also met with US Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Defense Undersecretary Paul Wolfowitz. Although he exchanged views with these prominent figures on very different matters, there were two main issues at the top of his Washington agenda: a possible US intervention in Iraq and Turkey’s EU membership bid. Discussions on the latter focused especially on European Commission’s Progress Report to be released on Oct. 9. The report is expected to influence discussions to be held at December’s Copenhagen summit on setting a date for the beginning of Turkey’s membership negotiations. That’s why Gurel conveyed the same message to all European ministers with whom he held meetings in Washington: ‘Please try to persuade the commission not to release a report which downplays Turkey’s recent successful efforts on its path towards EU membership.’
The European ministers’ reactions to the reform package passed this summer by the Turkish Parliament have been all similar. Spanish Foreign Minister Ana de Palacio openly expressed her ideas on the issue:
‘All the EU countries were very surprised to see the Turkish Parliament pass a constitutional reform package so quickly. After Turkey’s successful move, the European countries immediately realized that they had no “plan B.” It was a pleasing but still shocking development since, speaking frankly, in all its plans concerning Turkey’s membership bid the EU had taken it for granted that the Turkish government would be unable to take such significant moves concerning human rights and democracy.’
As a matter of fact, the EU officials’ recent statements stressing that the commission wanted to study the actual implementation of the reforms in Turkey before announcing a date for the country's negotiations should be considered the EU’s aftershock reaction. Let me put it this way: This is another pretext for anti-Turkey circles within the EU. However, Gurel didn’t hesitate to respond to such attempts, underlining that implementation of these reforms shouldn’t be seen as a pre-condition for Turkey’s membership negotiations. Not only the Europeans, but also US officials understood this message very well. ‘I discussed this issue with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenther Verheugen,’ said, Marc Grossman, US assistant secretary of state and a former ambassador to Ankara. ‘The Bush administration believes that the EU should adopt a more positive attitude towards Turkey.”
By the way, we also need to take a hard look at our country’s domestic problems. The European ministers clearly expressed their concerns over Turkey’s early elections, and the prospect that they might culminate with the victory of anti-Western parties. They see the possible formation of such an anti-EU government as a negative development which would deal a great blow to Turkish-EU relations. The Europeans at last understand that each step they take against Turkey’s membership bid will only boost the votes for Turkey’s anti-EU parties. In fact, they want to see neither the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) nor the Justice and Development Party (AKP) take a place within Turkey’s new government.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION