Turkey-European Union relations on parties' agendas

AK Party's Suat Kınıklıoğlu: Turkey needs better communication with EU member states in addition to explaining its case to the European public. We are cognizant of this fact and intend to adopt a proactive approach in communicating better with our fellow Europeans. We ought to shift the debate to more comprehensive European issues such as energy security, terrorism and immigration/integration as well as the Constitution.

CHP's Onur Öymen: Certainly democracy and human rights, or the Copenhagen criteria, are required for a country with modernization goals. You have to implement these to become a modern country. But, with or without the EU, these are values that a modern country must have. But then there are issues that depend solely on membership. For example if Turkey is not going to become an EU member then there is no need to strictly follow the criteria.

MHP's Oktay Vural: A story of blackmail, preconditions, unfair requests and pressures manifests itself when analyzing the recent past of Turkey-EU relations. The EU almost perceives Turkey as a handicapped country and it has been continuously excluded. This unhealthy structure will become gangrenous, and a crisis and fracture in relations will be inevitable.

DP's Çağrı Erhan: We see membership of the EU as a means, not an end. We reject any sort of imposition that will put Turkey's independence, national sovereignty, unity, integrity or border security at stake -- the impositions that are not included in the Copenhagen criteria and that are not asked of any other country. We hereby proclaim that we will not negotiate under ever-changing and additional conditions that have not been imposed on any other country before us.

TURKEY-EU TIES

AK Party: Communication is key to Turkey’s EU drive

Suat Kınıklıoğlu*

Turkey’s quest to join the European Union is progressing with its ups and downs, particularly since 2002. The process has been fragile especially since resistance towards Turkey’s full membership has become more organized and vocal in some member states. Yet Turkey has pursued a determined policy to continue the negotiation process in good faith.

One aspect that needs improvement in Turkey’s EU strategy is the communication dimension. Turkey needs to communicate better with member states and explain its case better to the European public. We Turks are not generally endowed with public relations genes, and have traditionally not been able to communicate effectively on issues that are dear to our external relations. That said, there is a pronounced determination to remedy this situation after the July 22 election. Turkey intends to embrace the European debate and actively participate in it. We also want to move away the focus of the EU-Turkey debate exclusively on the membership issue at this stage.

We ought to shift the debate to more comprehensive European issues such as energy security, terrorism and immigration/integration as well as the constitution. We intend to provide Turkish perspectives on these issues and actively take part in the discussion of the future of a common Europe. Turkey wants to engage with other Europeans on these important issues with an understanding that we will cohabit the same geopolitical and geo-economic space, independent of the end result of our own EU journey.

Should the AK Party obtain another mandate in the July 22 election one should expect that the EU drive will be re-energized, and Turkey will therefore spend significant political capital to push the negotiation drive forcefully. Our new communication strategy will play a significant part of this re-energized effort. Turkey will take the Turkey debate to European capitals and engage fellow Europeans with an understanding that we need to communicate with the European public and elites.

There are a multitude of aspects that we have not been able to communicate effectively to other Europeans. Historical prejudices, misinformation and sheer ignorance about Turkey and Turks will be treated seriously and countered by a long-term communication strategy. We intend to take this issue to a new level, and get out proactively, so that our European friends may understand Turkey better.

We are convinced that once other Europeans are better informed about Turks and Turkey, the membership issue will be discussed within a rational framework and will be saved from the current prejudicial context. Communication is destined to play a key role in Turkey’s EU process. We are cognizant of this fact and intend to adopt a proactive approach in communicating better with our fellow Europeans.

* Dr. Suat Kınıklıoğlu is AK Party candidate from Çankırı.

European Union policies and the Democrat Party

Çağrı Erhan*

Although it has been more than a year and a half since the negotiation process with the European Union for full membership officially started, it can be been seen that this period hasn't been efficient. The negotiation process has unfortunately also taken on a political quality, although it is normally based on a technical one.

The chief reasons for this and for eight negotiation chapters not to have been opened is that the government was unable to handle the process successfully, discrepancies among EU-member countries on Turkey's acceptance into the union and the turbulence occurring in the union. Today, intense and heated debates over Turkey's possible full membership in the union are taking place in the EU's decision-making mechanisms and in the EU public.

These debates are abused in the internal politics of EU-member countries, and efforts to garner more votes using the Turkey debate are rapidly increasing. In addition to the debates in EU-member countries, Turkey is also sparking fierce debates in EU institutions. A very striking example of this is the Turkey debates and reports in the European Parliament (EP). The debates that take place within the EU in both spheres and the statements and actions of those wishing to reap personal gain from these debates have been met with a very harsh reaction from the Turkish public. Within this context, Turkey's EU policy should be reassessed with the point we have arrived at in mind, through a realist viewpoint, not through sentimental reactions.

As the Democrat Party, we see membership in the EU as a means, not as an end. Our goal is to carry Turkey above the level of modern civilization. For this reason, relations with the EU should be set back on the right track.

We don't accept the current negotiation process, which is "open-ended and whose end cannot be guaranteed at the beginning" and which is portrayed as a great success for Turkey.

The Democrat Party, which initiated Turkey's relations with the EU and which will not shy away from taking determined steps to develop them, defends Turkey's full membership in the EU within the context of the Copenhagen criteria. And we altogether reject any sort of imposition that will put Turkey's independence, national sovereignty, unity, integrity or border security at stake -- the impositions that are not included in the Copenhagen criteria and that are not asked of any other country.

We hereby proclaim that we will not negotiate under ever-changing and additional conditions that have not been imposed on any other country before us.

At the beginning of the Democrat Party government, we will simultaneously take two steps in regards to EU relations:

We will do what has never been done by the governments so far, and we will consult with the people regarding the course of relations with the EU. To this end, we will convene an Enlarged European Union Forum with the participation of representatives from all political parties, civil society organizations, democratic mass organizations and academic institutions. At this forum, we will decide, with our nation, what EU relations will include and in what sort of context.

We will also call on the EU to hold a summit whose only article on the agenda will be the Turkey-EU relations. At this summit we will demand that the "open-ended negotiation" method that was accepted by the AK Party be changed.

The Democrat Party will not leave Turkey's fate at the mercy of Brussels with an "open-ended" process, all parts of which are mined.

Turkey will be a full and an equal member of the European Union like Germany, France, Italy and England.

Turkey doesn't have a single day left to waste.

* Dr. Çağrı Erhan is the deputy chairman of the Democrat Party and a candidate from Ankara.

Relations with the European Union according to MHP

Oktay Vural*

A story of blackmails, preconditions, unfair requests and pressures manifests itself when analyzing the recent past of Turkey-European Union relations. The EU nearly perceives Turkey as a handicapped country. During this period, Turkey has been continuously excluded. It is clear that the EU does not want to accept Turkey as a country with the same rights as itself.

We have a reached a point where Turkey-EU relations are marked by impositions, impasse, blackmail and preconditions.

As long as this awkward equilibrium in which Turkey-EU relations are locked remains unchanged, it will not be possible to move ahead with the process, and this diseased structure will become gangrenous and a breakup will be called for.

The fission in the Cyprus issue experienced today is only the first natural result of this unhealthy equation and morbid structure. The fundamental problem is the EU’s desire to impose this equation on Turkey. In this regard, it is essential that the character, platform and framework of Turkey-EU relations be redefined. These issues will be discussed with the EU in an open, honest and sincere manner.

Turkey will not perceive its relations with the EU as an identity and destiny problem. In this regard, no matter what the consequences may be, Turkey is not obliged nor bound to follow the EU’s orbit.

Under the current circumstances, “a period of strategic thinking” is necessary for both parties to conduct a healthy, realistic and good-intended evaluation.

The EU’s first priority must be to conduct a serious and sincere evaluation about its stance regarding Turkey’s national unity and solidarity, terror and separatism and its requests of Turkey over the Cyprus, Greece and Armenia issues. Turkey-EU relations will be freed from the imposing and one-sided victimizing axis and will be settled on a healthy foundation.

* Dr. Oktay Vural is the former Transportation Minister, MHP deputy leader and parliamentary candidate from İzmir’s first electoral region.

Turkey-EU ties according to CHP

Onur Öymen*

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been supporting Turkey’s membership in the EU from the very beginning. But we see that some countries, in particular France, have adopted policies to prevent Turkey’s membership. We believe the government has failed to take the proper stance against these policies. In the past, the prime minister and foreign affairs minister were keen to react to any sound from Europe. During the time Prime Minister Erdoğan was devoted to the EU process, he would take every European announcement and declaration seriously and steer the discussion over to Turkey. But now French President Sarkozy says Turkey will not become a full member of the EU, and the prime minister says nothing. These issues have been left for chief negotiator Ali Babacan to handle, but we don’t hear anything from him, either.

We warned this government when it embarked on a journey towards the EU. We told them that the steps they were taking could create bad results for Turkey; we told them to be careful and to see the facts. But those facts became trump cards for circles that are against us. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which fell into the trap of the circles who tried to link the EU to the Cyprus problem, thought the smallest concession over the Cyprus issue would open the doors for Turkey’s membership. But it is for this reason that Turkey has become a country that endures everything. This relationship is neither an equal partnership nor a future partnership relationship.

It was obvious months, even years, ago that these developments would occur. But unfortunately, Turkey did not take precautionary measures. France made amendments to the EU constitution to block Turkey’s membership, linking Turkey’s membership to a referendum. But still there is no reaction or refusal from Turkey. Former French President Chirac said Turkey would not be able to join the EU until Turkey acknowledged the Armenian genocide. Turkey did not have a reaction to that, either. Now Sarkozy is carrying the same flag. Not only has the prime minister failed to provide a response, but he asks people not to bring this issue up in front of the press. In other words, he does not reject the statements and requests, but he is disturbed that they are mentioned before the press. It is hard to grasp the mentality behind this stance and policy.

Now, a wave bearing an Armenian genocide bill is rolling throughout Europe. Everyone is accepting the genocide. Before, Cyprus was always on the agenda, but now it’s the genocide. While they are thinking of ways to prevent us from joining, we are doing nothing. We are not even displaying a stance. But during the CHP administration, they will see that Turkey is not without claim, not mute or unresponsive. They will see that Turkey will not remain silent to actions made against her. They will not be able to inflict such cheap injustices on Turkey.

Unfortunately, Turkey’s Cyprus policy has been transferred to the EU, making the Cyprus issue collateral for Turkey-EU relations. The decisions the government accepted during the 2004 summit play an important role in this.

Now the government says, “Even if they do not accept us into the EU, we will make the Copenhagen criteria Ankara’s criteria and continue on our way.” Even if negotiation chapters are not opened, we will work as if they have been. Is this the right way to express ourselves? It can’t be, because Turkey’s reform project is nothing new. Achieving the same standards as modern countries and surpassing them has been Turkey’s goal since Atatürk’s time. Certainly, democracy and human rights or the Copenhagen criteria are required for a country with such goals. You have to implement these to become a modern country. But, with or without the EU, these are values that a modern country must have. But then there are issues that depend solely on membership. For example, if Turkey is not going to become an EU member, then there is no need to strictly follow the criteria. Besides, Switzerland is in the center of Europe. Is Switzerland following these criteria? Is Norway following them? No.

We have a customs union agreement with the EU, we use EU rates for imports from Japan. If we are not going to become a member, then why should we use these rates? If we are not going to enter the EU, Turkey should establish its own tariffs and criteria. They think these Maastricht Criteria are a global law and that all countries must follow them. But that’s not the case. They are the decisions of the EU made in consideration of its own standards. Certainly if we become a member we will follow it. There is no problem regarding that. But if they are not going to accept us, then we have to choose our own stance and criteria.

*Onur Öymen is a retired ambassador, CHP deputy leader and candidate from Bursa.

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?

Abdullah Deveci (53), merchant

I cannot think about the EU or the elections. As a citizen, I have payments to make and problems to tackle. Yet I can say that a man and a women having different lifestyles cannot or should not marry. A union between Turkey and the EU is just like this. Can you see any Muslim country in the EU? No. They do not accept us as we are Muslims, and this is what is expected from them. I am not sure whether we should enter or not.

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Buldu Gözdemir (45), engineer

I am against the EU. I lived and studied in the EU between 1982 and 2000. I know how they see us. Racism is applied against Turks in the EU. For instance, they are scared of an increasing number of Turkish children, and they say that they will turn into a Turkish country. The EU countries have no mines or resources, but they have industry. They see Turkey as a market to which they can send their garbage goods.

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Hakan Altuğ (39), cell phone dealer

The biggest roadblock to our entry is our being Turks and Muslims. Problems pertaining to Cyprus or France are secondary problems. They will never accept us, and I think we are making futile efforts. We can model ourselves on the EU with respect to things like using solar energy, etc. In this respect, it would be good if we achieved compliance with their criteria. But we must do it for development purposes, not for entering the EU.

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Atilla Fakılı (22), student

We must gain access to the EU. But society is not ready for it. In the face of resistance from the people, the government cannot work enthusiastically toward this end. France’s attitude is not important. I don’t think they will reject us when we are qualified to enter the bloc. I don’t think there are phobias toward us. There is no essential blockade to our entry. The Armenian and Cyprus issues will not affect us.

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Orhan Çelebi (29), special security officer

It would better if we had not taken Cyprus. We split Cyprus. The Greek Cypriots have shown great progress while the only thing our people have done is to make Denktaş rich. Yet the people in Cyprus are now aware of everything. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has reversed the existing course of Cyprus policies. Even if they have problems with the army, this too will change. The status quo is having its final days.