Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
May 2010
Turkey has been trying for EU membership since the 1950s and now Turkey’s
relations with the EU entered a new era With the start of accession negotiations. European
Union should accept Turkish membership taking account of its remarkable progress in
Those opposed to Turkish membership in the European Union point out several
issue. First, they claim that Turkey is large in terms of population and small in economic size.
Hughes (2004) claims that Turkey is a country with a huge population and very small in
economic terms with political and economic implications. He further states that in economic
terms, Turkey will have a small impact on the European Union Market. Hughes might have a
point; however, the reality is very different from what he states. Turkey’s population is not
adults now, most of them are children. This means that they will contribute to the progress of
Turkish economy in the near future. What is more, Turkey’s economy has been growing
significantly if we compare with some other countries which are already members of
European Union. Domaniç (2007) claims that 20% of the Turkish population is children now
but as some studies show, by 2020 they will reach their working age and will contribute to the
development of the country. Furthermore, he states that Turkish economy has been growing at
any significant rate and this has contributed to the stability of the macro-economy as well. As
a result of this, not only the inflation but also the public sector deficit and debt have reduced.
a good relation between Turkey and its neighbors and EU security will be in danger.
Gasparini (2007) claims that Turkish accession to the EU will bring negative impacts as it will
increase the area and the border of the EU touching areas with a lot of conflicts such as
Caucasus and the Middle East. Apart from this, he further states that Turkey has been
involved in conflicts with its neighbors so they need to resolve and take control of it in order
to maintain its border safe. Gasparini may have a point, but Turkey has solved most of the
problems with its neighbors, in fact, Turkey has now a good relationship with countries like
Greece and Armenia that used to be enemy. Ünluhisarciklı (2010) claims that although
Turkey has some unsolved problems with its neighbors, Turkey has given an important step to
resolve those conflicts. Turkey improved their relation with Greece, they are no longer
adversaries. Apart from this, Turkey and Armenia have established a diplomatic relation. He
further states that Turkey has a new foreign policy and with this policy, Turkey will better
improve the relationship with its neighborhood and will play the role of mediator in regional
conflicts contributing to the peace and stability between them. In security terms, Turkey has
already a good experience in this area. Domaniç (2007) claim that in 1952, Turkey joined
NATO and since then Turkey has been contributing to the European Security and Defense
Policy (ESDP) so EU can take this advantage and Turkey’s strategic localization to stabilize
the highly volatile regions. The Opponents also mention the Cyprus problem. Gasparini
(2007) claims that the Cyprus problem is a big issue and has serious implications for the
negotiations between the EU and Turkey, the possibility of any integration is out of question
if the Cyprus question is not answered. Yet, this idea cannot be more than just a claim,
because Turkey actually voted for the reunification and it was the Greek Cypriots who did not
accept it. ABHaber (2008) claims that the current situation between these countries is the
result of EU’s faulty strategy when they accept Southern Cyprus as a member representing the
against by rejecting the reunification of the island in April 2004, in fact it was the Turkish
Turkish culture and value are different. Rosenberg (2008) claims that Muslim and Christian
culture are not alike. He further states that Turkish population is 99% Muslim and the Europe
population is based in Christianity. However, he might get it wrong because the integration of
Turkey in the EU not only will strengthen the dialogue between Christian and Muslim but
also bring democracy between them, That is, their integration would enrich religious
freedoms in the EU. Domaniç (2007) says that Turkey will contribute positively to the
unification and the intercultural dialogue between the Christian and the Muslim population.
Moreover, it would strengthen Turkish Democracy and shows that Islam and democracy can
coexist. The number of Muslim living within the borders of EU has been increasing daily so
it is safe to say that Islam is already a part of the European Culture. The integration of Turkey
would show that Muslim culture is accepted in the EU. In addition to this, İnaç (2003) claims
that Turkish’s accession to the EU will enrich religious freedoms bringing Muslim and
Christian together.
All in all, the proponents of Turkish accession to the European Union should
rethink their points and claims, taking account of Turkish remarkable progress in economy
and Turkish strategic localization, without any biased and subjective thoughts. On the other
hand, Turkish authority should convince the opponents of their integration to the EU that their
integration to the EU will provide valuable benefits to the organization. Once they do this, the
opponents will understand the importance of the Turkish membership in the EU and start to
ABHaber (2008). European Turkey in the EU! EU-Turkey News Network. Economic
http://www.abhaber.com/english/haber.php?id=3769
Domaniç, S. (2007) The Turkish Accession to the European Union: Mutually beneficial?
http://www.isp.org.pl/files/18444490470897409001169459097.pdf
Gasparini, G. (2007). Turkey And European Securıty.IAI-TESEV. Retrieved May 01, 2010,
from http://www.iai.it/pdf/Quaderni/Quaderni_E_08.pdf
Hannay, D. (2006). Cyprus, Turkey and the EU: Time for a sense of proportion and
http://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/policybrief_cyprus_hannay_july06.pdf
Hughes, K. (2004). Turkey And The European Union: Just Another Enlargement? Exploring
the Impacts of Turkish Accession. Les amis de l’Europe. Retrieved April 30, 2010,
from http://www.cdu.de/en/doc/Friends_of_Europe_Turkey.pdf
İnaç, H. (2003). Identity Problems of Turkey during the European Union Integration Process.
Journal of Economic and Social Research 6 (2), 33-62. Retrieved April 28, 2010, from
http://www.fatihun.edu.tr/~jesr/jesr.inac.pdf
Rosenberg, M. (2008). Will Turkey Be Accepted for Membership in the EU? Turkey in the
http://www.turkishpolicy.com/images/stories/2009-03-tpq/OZGUR_UNLUHISARCIKLI.pdf