Is there a place for Turkey in the European Union?
by Isaac Rizzo
The debate surrounding Turkish membership in the European Union and whether Turkey ought to be considered European has been a long one. The Ottoman Empire had made its presence in Europe and the Mediterranean felt especially during the early modern period. As religion played an important role in society, great emphasis was made on the fact that The Ottomans were a Muslim force that can threaten Christianity in Europe. This being said, it had still been considered a civilised and advanced empire. This undoubtedly influenced the perception many Europeans have of Turks which may hinder any prospects of a future in the EU, not excluding modern political issues.
Subsequent to Ataturk’s death, Turkey would continue to align itself more with the west especially after the Second World War in the context of the Cold War by joining NATO in 1952 and express its intention in joining the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959. This was followed by the Ankara Agreement in 1963 intended to serve as the basis upon which the EEC and Turkey would build on with the prospects of one day Turkey being a member of the organisation. Members of the EEC had urged Turkey to submit a formal application to become a member seeing as the country maintained a foreign policy aligned with the west. Throughout the 20th century Turkey faced major political setbacks as it experienced three coups in 1960, 1980, and 1993 and relations with neighbouring Greece soured due to disputes and the situation in Cyprus where Turkey invaded the northern part of the island in 1974, although it would submit an official application for the EEC in 1987. Turkey would see major transformations both internally and externally during Erdogan’s tenure who contrasted greatly with the Republic’s founding fathers. Until his election into office in 2003 the international community regarded him as a moderate Islamist who was committed to turn the country around to adhere to democratic values and further integrate into the west and the European Union (EU).
Erdogan and his family originated from Anatolia and attracted a large base in the region where his supporters were more conservative, religious and not completely in line with Ataturk’s Kemalist policies. This meant that Erdogan’s background and perspectives therefore were different to that of Ataturk’s which would reflect on the path Turkey would take on a domestic and later on external level. It was during Erdogan’s tenure that negotiations for accession into the EU would initiate in 2005, however, some EU members states were reluctant to pursue the talks due to fears by France and Germany that their dominance would be challenged as Turkey had a larger population. Greece and Cyprus were reluctant due to the latter’s occupation and the former’s disputes. This reluctance was felt by the Turkish side as is clearly shown by the ruling AKP party becoming more Eurosceptical and the country’s former minister of EU affairs Volkan Bozkir who served between 2015 and 2016. He believes the EU no longer offers wealth and innovative ideas on par with the Schengen Area and pointed out the Union’s disunity with the financial crisis saying that the EU no longer helps its members. Bozkir stated that the main issue with the EU is that it tries to implement a one size fits all policy fiscally which is impossible due to the different economic situations between members states. Furthermore, he believes that Turkey should strive to achieve EU standards but not in the pursuit of membership, pointing out how countries such as Cyprus hampered accession talks for Turkey due to the aforementioned factors.
The EU must recognise that Turkey is in a much stronger position economically and no longer sees itself as one of the EU’s poor neighbours, seeing itself as a regional power in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Erdogan has taken advantage of the country’s unique geopolitical position on the world stage, no longer seeing itself as an appendix of Europe as it engages with the Middle East, Asia and tries to maintain a positive relation with the west and the EU whilst acting as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. This has put the country in contradiction with EU foreign policy as it joined other organisation such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and expressed its interest multiple times of joining BRICS. With regards to Cyprus, Turkey believes in a two-state solution for the country between the Republic of Cyprus and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus due to ethnic and religious differences. The lack of democratic values and rule of law in the country and its lack of respect to minorities such as the Armenians and Kurds are also factors to be considered. The issue of a political military is also a concern of the EU which has become exacerbated with the 2016 coup saw Erdogan’s position become threatened. The west’s reaction to the coup or lack thereof pushed Erdogan further away as western leaders hesitated to support him as the legitimate leader.
This caused him to pursue closer relations with countries such as Russia going so far as to purchase Russia anti-missile defences, putting into question their commitment to NATO. The AKP’s administration in endorsing political Islam and moving away from Kemalism does not help in the EU having a more favourable opinion of Turkey as is the use of Syrian migrants as a bargaining chip. History is also a factor to consider as European history with regards to the Ottoman Empire being seen as an Islamic force against Christian values created a division between the two that can still be seen in the perspectives of both sides. This drastic change in policy from the countries policies in the 20th century stem from the shift in the elite which had previously been dominated by Eurocentric lobbyists and politicians to Anatolia-centrists as Turkey now sees the world through an Anatolian lens. These factors make Turkey’s EU question more complex and harder to pursue unless a change of government occurs.
