David Cameron's enthusiastic backing for Turkey's EU bid makes it a good time to discuss a tricky issue.
First, let me be clear on one thing: Cameron's support for Turkey's EU bid doesn't really mean anything. The UK has strongly supported Turkey's EU bid from day one. Majority opinion in the UK sees the EU as, at most, a free trade zone. The Tories in particular love making the EU seem dysfunctional and making France squirm, and this is what the calls for Turkey's accession accomplish.
But should Turkey be allowed into the EU? It depends what the EU means to you. If the purpose of the EU is to develop a meta-state of increasingly "pooled" sovereignty, then the answer is no. The reason is not because Turkey is Muslim, relatively poor, and full of aspiring migrants. It's because Turkey is way too independent.
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First, let me be clear on one thing: Cameron's support for Turkey's EU bid doesn't really mean anything. The UK has strongly supported Turkey's EU bid from day one. Majority opinion in the UK sees the EU as, at most, a free trade zone. The Tories in particular love making the EU seem dysfunctional and making France squirm, and this is what the calls for Turkey's accession accomplish.
But should Turkey be allowed into the EU? It depends what the EU means to you. If the purpose of the EU is to develop a meta-state of increasingly "pooled" sovereignty, then the answer is no. The reason is not because Turkey is Muslim, relatively poor, and full of aspiring migrants. It's because Turkey is way too independent.
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Take, for instance, Iran policy. If the EU is going to progress as a political entity, it needs to "speak with one voice." Turkey's Islamist leadership simply does not see Iran as a threat, and they are not going to back sanctions. Same for Hamas--it's going to be difficult to get Turkey to declare it a terrorist entity and stop meeting with its leaders. If Turkey were in the EU, you would have the UK and Turkey, which are active in the Middle East and willing to use force, but have increasingly different priorities, while Germany and France are passive and unwilling to use force.
Ok, you say, Turkey is only pursuing close ties with Iran, Syria, Hamas, et al because its been rejected by the West. This is a simplification, although France and Germany have certainly not acted in good faith regarding the EU negotiations. But then what about the Kurdish issue? What if the Turkish military declared martial law in some of its Kurdish-majority provinces after a spate of terrorist attacks, and this was denounced by Germany and France? (martial law existed in the southeast of Turkey from 1980 until the early 2000s)
I can go on and on about various issues. In general, Turkey does not share the outlook of the big players of the EU-- France, Germany, and Italy, whose contemporary mindset was forged as a reaction to the horrors of WWII, which Turkey never played a part in.
In more tangible terms, Turkey joining the EU would be good for Turkey, but its sheer size would mean the end of France and Germany effectively running the bloc, throwing a wrench into an organization whose default policy is to muddle along. Turkey's independent views would further foreclose the little hope left that the EU can actually work as a coherent actor on the world stage. So if you're a committed Europhile, you cannot support Turkey's accession. But if you think that the EU should be more like NAFTA--and that might be a more realistic goal for the European project--then bring in the Turks.
- Jon
Ok, you say, Turkey is only pursuing close ties with Iran, Syria, Hamas, et al because its been rejected by the West. This is a simplification, although France and Germany have certainly not acted in good faith regarding the EU negotiations. But then what about the Kurdish issue? What if the Turkish military declared martial law in some of its Kurdish-majority provinces after a spate of terrorist attacks, and this was denounced by Germany and France? (martial law existed in the southeast of Turkey from 1980 until the early 2000s)
I can go on and on about various issues. In general, Turkey does not share the outlook of the big players of the EU-- France, Germany, and Italy, whose contemporary mindset was forged as a reaction to the horrors of WWII, which Turkey never played a part in.
In more tangible terms, Turkey joining the EU would be good for Turkey, but its sheer size would mean the end of France and Germany effectively running the bloc, throwing a wrench into an organization whose default policy is to muddle along. Turkey's independent views would further foreclose the little hope left that the EU can actually work as a coherent actor on the world stage. So if you're a committed Europhile, you cannot support Turkey's accession. But if you think that the EU should be more like NAFTA--and that might be a more realistic goal for the European project--then bring in the Turks.
- Jon
