ENG-190

14.10.2005

Turkey within the European Union?

“The Republic of Turkey or Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), is a bicontinental country located mainly in Asia Minor, with 3% of its land located in the Balkans. Its strategic location straddles the Bosphorus straits that separate Southwest Asia from Southeast Europe. The Anatolian peninsula comprises nearly all of its territory, and is situated between the Black Sea on the north and the Mediterranean Sea to south, with the Aegean Sea and Marmara Sea (both branches of the Mediterranean) to the west. Because of its position straddling the continents of Europe and Asia and surrounded by three seas, Turkey has been a historical crossroads, the homeland of and battleground between several great civilizations, and a centre of commerce. Turkey borders eight countries: Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; Georgia, Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan and to the northeast; Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the south.”

This is the definition the Wikipedia gives to Turkey.

Nowadays, almost every day newspapers show the controversial situation of the entrance of

Turkey in the European Union. Turkey should not be allowed to enter in the European Union because it does not comprise part of the European culture, in the sense that they do not share the same characteristics. Another reason for which Turkey should not be member of the Union is because of the immigration it will suppose; and the last cause for which this country should have to remain out is the amount of changes in many policies to adjust Turkey features to the EU.

In any group, members have to feel something to stay united, if a new member does not have these feelings, then he has to go out of the group. The same happens with Turkey. If Turkey does not have the same features than the rest of the EU members, like geography or religion, then, Turkey could not be considered as a European country. Although the republic of Turkey is considered lay, 99% of the population are Muslim, as Carolina Podestá, a journalist, who has worked in Bagdad, said in “Turkey: ethics and religion minorities” in November last year in Radio Nederland, and Europe is mainly Christian, the archbishop of Tarragona, Monsignor Luís Martinez Sistach, indicates: “Christianity is not only one inheritance very feature of the European Union; it is also a present reality and it lives in each one on the fifteen States that are members of the Union ... This presence can be evaluated numerically, and the percentage of the Christian citizens very is high. The traditional Christian religions represent 90,5%.” (Alfa y Omega). As Europeans are mainly Christian, it could be considered an offence if the rules permit the Islamic entrance.

The second main reason for not letting Turkey enter the European Union is immigration. The Turks of the poorest zones of the country would flood the western zone of Europe looking for a job and the experience of Germany and other countries in the last decades shows the difficulties that mean integrating those people. Experts predict a number of around 2.7 million immigrants and countries like Germany or France cannot afford that amount of immigrants. (Project Syndicate, “It will trust the UE in Turkey?”).

The third reason for not allowing Turkey in the European Union is that some of the oldest and most important countries will have to hand over seats to them, and some of the poorest countries will have to receive less money for improvements and give this money for them. There is a total of 173 seats in the European Congress. The country that has most of the seats is Germany with 99. If Turkey were part of Europe, its 70 millions of inhabitants would represent 75 parliament members, 86 seats, so in the Euro-congress, those 75 member will suppose a majority so they could govern by their own. It also would supposes the ruin for the European Union because helps, not only will be removed from other countries to Turkey, but also, those countries would have to give more money to keep up Turkey for ever. That will mean that countries like Spain, Greece, Portugal or Ireland will have give money for the impossible task of putting Turkey into the same community levels.

However, if the European Union does not accept Turkey, would be accused of having prejudices. Article I-2 of the European Constitution says: “the Union is based on the values of respect of the human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and respect of the human rights, including the rights of the people pertaining to minorities. These values are common to the members States in a society characterized by pluralism, the non-discrimination, the tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men.”. As this Article says, Governors of the European Union have to do what the majority wants to, so according to Eva Agido (“Turkey in the UE: Begins the count down?” in Radio Nederland “52% of the European are against this adhesion, percentage that in some countries, like Austria, arrives at 80%.” So, the European Parliament should say NO for not being accused of dictators.

Turkish borders are Syria, Iran, Iraq, Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia and Cyprus. So if Turkey were part of Europe relationships with countries like Iraq, Iran or Syria would improve remarkably. But in the other hand, those countries would make easier immigration towards Europe.

Turkey has fulfilled many of the requirements is order to change like: democracy, relationship between civil and military staments have improved, changes in law, dead penalty has been abolished, and it is making progresses in avoiding torture, recognizing Human Rights and in expression freedom. However, there many things they still have to change. One of the main person who really supports that this is not what is really happening is the Recounter of the special Report on Turkey, who says in the official web page of “genocidioarmenio.org” his thoughts about this supposed changes: "the Treaty, that establishes the principle of equality of the citizens without religion or race distinction, consecrates the statute of minority for the nonMuslim. Therefore, the religious identity of the nonMuslim communities and its individual rights and like minorities are recognized in it. Articles 37 to 45 of that Treaty talk about the protection of the minorities. In article 37, it is indicated that the dispositions that appear in articles 38 to 44 of the Treaty have the value of fundamental laws and that, consequently, no law, no regulation, nor no official action can contradict them or to prevail with respect to them (...) article 40 guarantees to the no Muslim right to create, to direct and to control, to its expenses, all class of charitable, religious or social institutions, all class of schools and other establishments of education and education, with the right to use its own language freely and to freely exert in them its religion.". So it is clearly explained that Turkey is not fulfilling he was ordered to.

So, in conclusion. Perhaps the European Parliament has to accept Turkey within Europe. However it is known fore sue that they will have to wait for a long time until Europeans accept them, and/or they fulfil all the essential requirements. Maybe in 2025 Turkey has finished to improve and in ready for coming, not now definitively.

Works Cited

Egido, Eva. “Turkey in the UE: Begins the count down?”. Radio Nederland. 30-0-05. 21.09.05 <http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/es/actualidad/europa/act050930_turquiaue?view= Standard&version=1>

European Constitution, articles I-II

“It is dying”. Genocidioarmenio.org. 10.10.05. <http://www.genocidioarmenio.org /nota.asp?id=35>

Podesta, Carolina. Comodoro Rivadavia. 28.09.05 <http://www.elchenque.com.ar /cola/caropodes/caropodescv.htm>

Podestá, Carolina. “Turkey: ethics and religion minorities” 09.11.04. 23.09.05. Radio Nederland (http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/es/informes/unioneuropea/ampliaciondelaue /act041109_turquia.html?view=Standard)

Rohan, Albert (Director General of Austria's Foreign Ministry)., “It will trust the UE in Turkey?”, 08.04. 25.09.05. Project Syndicate. <http://www.project-syndicate.org/ commentary/ahtisaari1/Spanish>

Serrano, Jose Francisco. Alfa y Omega. 22.09.05. “The origins are not invented, are recognized”.<http://www.alfayomega.es/estatico/anteriores/alfayomega332/espana/reportaje1. html>

“Tukey”. Wikipedia. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey>