Today, in contrast, Sweden is the strongest supporter of Turkey's membership in the EU. Cecilia Malmström, Sweden's minister for EU affairs, recently made the following statement:"We recommend membership -- when Turkey fulfils the criteria -- because we believe that a democratic and open Turkey has much to contribute to the EU and that the country will be able to serve as an important bridge between Europe and the Muslim world. There is naturally a long way to go before membership can be considered, but it is important that we send positive signals to Turkey and to all those people who want the prime minister and the government to move closer to Europe and bring the country into the EU. We need to show our support particularly now that he and his party are experiencing major problems with nationalist forces who have reported the ruling [Justice and Development Party] AK Party to the Constitutional Court. The whole matter may appear farcical but is an example of the powerful forces struggling in this country. It is no less than an attempt at a constitutional coup d'état..." (Europaforum, April 14, 2008)
Sweden is the only country where both left and right-wing governments and all parties in parliament support Turkey's membership in the EU. There is not a single member in the Swedish Parliament who is against Turkish accession. The Swedish Parliament has so far rejected all draft resolutions put forward for the recognition of the "Armenian genocide," most recently on June 14, 2008 when out of 254 members of parliament who voted only 32 cast their votes in favor.
Sweden is the only EU member country which has opened a Swedish-Turkish Cooperation Center in İstanbul to promote Turkey's integration into the EU. In a recent conference on Turkey-EU relations I attended in Holland, a high-ranking Dutch diplomat stated, with astonishment, that Sweden is the only country which is putting up a fight in favor of Turkey against France in Brussels. According to Eurobarometer surveys, Swedes are the people most supportive of Turkish membership in the EU, with 46 percent being in favor. Sweden is surely Turkey's best friend in the EU. Why?
Swedish governments, both left and right, are fully aware of the benefits of enlargement and oppose the EU turning into a federal superstate. They have observed how the EU's soft power, its ability to attract and persuade countries to adopt its norms and goals, has led to a silent revolution in Turkey between 2001 and 2005 towards greater freedom and prosperity, and also how negative signals coming from the EU since then have led to a nationalist backlash, dangerous for both Turkey and the union.
One of Sweden's former social democratic foreign ministers, the late Anna Lindh, and current conservative Foreign Minister Carl Bildt have both shown a keen interest in Turkey. This has helped Stockholm to understand, perhaps better than any other EU capital, the dynamics of Ankara. Swedish Ambassador to Turkey Christer Asp, former Swedish Ambassador to Turkey Henrik Liljegren, former Swedish Ambassador to Turkey Ann Dismorr and Swedish Consul-General in İstanbul Ingmar Karlsson have all made outstanding contributions to bring Turkey closer to Sweden and the EU. Karlsson believes that history is an important factor in explaining Swedish sympathy for Turkey: Austria is Turkey's staunchest opponent in the EU, perhaps because the Turks twice attempted to take Vienna. Sweden and Turkey, on the other hand, have never been at war against each other.
Dismorr served in Ankara precisely in the period between 2001 and 2005 when the prospect of EU membership helped Turkish governments achieve substantial democratic reforms which led to the start of accession negotiations with Brussels in October 2005. She recently published a book, titled "Turkey Decoded" (Saqi Publishers, 2008), which is undoubtedly the best account so far of the role of the EU's soft power on what has been called a "silent revolution" in Turkey. The concluding sentences of the book seem to summarize its main argument: "President [Abdullah] Gül and the AK Party government face a historic challenge to demonstrate that Islam and democracy are compatible. Turkey has come a long way in proving that. … The EU is facing a historic choice of how to deal with Turkey -- the most liberal and well-developed democracy in the Muslim world of 1.2 billion people. The world is watching."
