Shuttle diplomacy -- Turkey visits Stockholm

From today at 12:20 p.m. local time onwards, the EU's 27 foreign ministers then come together with representatives of all three state's that have been accepted as EU candidate countries. The media release issued by the Swedish government prior to the Stockholm event allows us to better understand how the Swedish EU presidency views the accession process: “Candidate countries are countries that have applied for EU membership and whose applications have been officially approved.” If only every EU member state would make statements that are as clear and positive as this one. Whereas the German government might want to add, “Have been officially approved but can only enjoy a privileged partnership,” the French authorities could easily have added, “Have been officially approved but that does not imply any serious commitment on our behalf at all.”

So what is in it for Turkey; does it make sense to travel thousands of miles for a rather brief meeting and how can informal gatherings be used for one's own benefit?

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry this Friday, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu will not only attend the meeting and exchange information with the EU and candidate states' Foreign Ministers regarding regional developments but will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and officials from the EU Commission at the margins of the meeting. A good example of how the EU really works is the allocation of the position of president of the European Parliament. According to unwritten rules brokered in many “informal” meetings, the five-year top spot in the parliament's hierarchy is equally divided into two two-and-a-half year mandates; hence, this summer the Socialist group happily obliged to support the European People's Party (EPP) candidate, Jerzy Buzek. Two-and-a-half-years into the mandate of this parliament their own group is then guaranteed to come out on top with whoever they nominate as the next president. Graham Watson from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) had been mentioned as a candidate but withdrew during meetings behind closed doors. Five years ago the Green Party had similar plans but ultimately could not form a majority in the house.

I do not wish to suggest whether this form of politics is fair or transparent; I cannot comment on all other parliaments' internal practices. What I can comment on, however, is that in order to succeed in Brussels you must know how and by whom it is actually run. While trying to influence elected members of parliament by talking to them is one suitable way to form pro-Turkey opinions, lobbying the Council of Ministers is simply a must.

Without the need for a final declaration and no voting taking place and seen from a candidate country's perspective, meetings like the one today in Stockholm are a perfect platform to bridge the unfortunately still rather wide perception gap. It is a cumbersome process but as long as the large majority of present EU member states is fully behind Turkey's EU accession rhetoric, saber-rattling from Germany or Paris just does not sound that frightening any more.

Diplomacy over a meal is part and parcel of life and work in Brussels, very often due to a simple reason: distances between EU member state's capitals imply that meetings are sandwiched between early morning and early evening flight schedules. Ministers hardly spend more than two full days at a time in one location. Their political eyes and ears are assembled in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER). While the minister's more or less come to town to cast a vote in their respective council meetings the permanent representatives have spent weeks to prepare perhaps for just a single item on the agenda trying to make sure a vote can actually take place if required.