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`Privileged partnership': Acid test for Turkey's will on substance of EU
values
Sunday, June 12, 2005
DIPLOMACY
EMINE KART
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Neither Turkish society nor Turkey's decision-makers have thus far
indicated any enthusiasm for a non-official offer called a `privileged
partnership' status that is supposed to eventually supplant its target
of full membership of the European Union. Until recently, this
so-called status -- that barely has any real definition -- has
gradually begun to be dressed up, again non-officially.
The question is whether Turkey being cool to the offer will actually
spell whether it is in fact committed to full EU membership; or
whether it will cave in to such a fanciful concept and ignore its
long-term efforts of becoming a member of the `elite club.'
Only twenty days before France's overwhelming rejection of the
European Constitution in a referendum at the end of last month,
Gündüz Aktan, a former Turkish ambassador now writing for Radikal
daily, said in his article that the head of a French think-tank known
to be close to French President Jacques Chirac conveyed Aktan's
proposals on the `privileged partnership' status.
Aktan, who is also head of the Ankara based think-tank ASAM (Center
for Eurasian Strategic Studies), said that it was unknown whether
those proposals, concretely listed for the first time, would be
adopted by the French government as an official standpoint.
A misleadingly attractive trial offer:
According to Professor Ahmet Insel, lecturing both at Sorbonne
University in Paris and Galatasaray University in Istanbul, the recent
offer suggestedby Aktan seems `thoroughly thought out.'
`This offer wishes to create an appeal for the current balance of
power and components of that balance within Turkey,' Insel said in a
telephone interview with the Turkish Daily News (TDN).
A European observer of Turkey-EU relations ascertained the samepoint
within the offer; `The offer is falsely attractive to some of the
security elite in Turkey,' he told the TDN.
`From the European side, it completely ignores the psychological
drive of Turkey towards the EU,' the observer said, adding: `The
recent offer provides that Turkey's membership talks last between 15
and 20 years and that they are 'open-ended.' Thus; a `privileged
partnership' could be established relatively quickly. Turkey may
decide to continue its full membership talks and these two can
simultaneously co-exist, according to the offer.'
Two channels of annexation to the EU has been introduced to Turkey
via this offer, one of which is an economy-trade channel by expanding
the existing customs union agreement between the bloc and Turkey via
including that which has not thus far been included in the customs
union.
The second channel of annexation is Turkey being included within the
bloc's security policy within the framework of the European Security
and Defense Policy (ESDP), which is considered a step parallel with
progress towards a common foreign and security policy.
Annexation or full integration:
Insel said the offer suggests Turkey will be allowed to have a voice
in some fields as a partner of the bloc, despite not having a place in
the political institutions of the actual bloc as a member. He believes
that there are two striking aspects within the content of the offer.
`Through the inclusion of Turkey in the ESDP, the offeraims at
wooing those circles in Turkey who want to integrate the country into
international society at its strategic value,' Insel said.
It was Angela Merkel, the German conservative leader, seen as highly
likely to replace Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government in
elections expected to be held this autumn, who first mooted the
concept of `privileged partnership' during her visit to Turkey in
February last year.
Merkel said at the time she observed `pretty simple andpretty good
perspectives' for Turkey's inclusion within the scope of the ESDP. She
described these opportunities as a part of what her party, the
Christian Democrat Union (CDU), defines as a `privileged partnership'
or a `third way.'
Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who is known as
the founding father of the EU Constitution; Nicolas Sarkozy,
presidential hopeful and leader of the ruling French Union for Popular
Movement (UMP); and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel are among
those names who support Merkel's concept.
What happens to cultural diversity?
Merkel and the support-base for her idea bases its argument upon
cultural grounds, with Merkel mainly citing Turkey's predominantly
Muslim populationas a reason for wanting to keep it out of the
15-nation, and overwhelmingly Christian, bloc.
In a disappointed tone following Merkel's visit, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it made him `sad' to hear the
argument that Turkey didn't fit into the EU because it was `culturally
different.' He added, `We see no cultural unity in Europe, no
`Christian club' and no geographical whole.'
Insel said the recent offer reflects a view that is dominated by a
tendency to see Turkey solely as a trading and security partner of the
European bloc.
`We can see that Turkey's cultural, political or demographic
contributions to the bloc are not considered as `interesting' or
`worth taking into consideration' by those backing that view. It is
thought provoking to see astronger tendency to see Turkey solely as a
nation of merchants with a strong military,' Insel said.
To settle for being solely a merchant's and a military society:
Given that the offer claims not to entirely exclude the possibility
of Turkey's full entry into the bloc with a `privileged partnership'
status being `a transitional period' so that it can run parallel to
entry negotiations, Insel emphasized that it was already clear that
this transitional period would be quite lengthy.
As for Turkish society, the status is likely to be considered as a
compromise. Yet one wonders if those facts within the offer introduced
as`the most attractive aspect of the `privileged partnership' formula'
might gradually woo Turkey's decision-makers, particularly regarding
the long period of entry negotiations and aggravations ahead.
As listed by Aktan; a number of foreign policy issues are the
following ` attractive points,' namely; the Cyprus dispute, the Aegean
problem,the Armenian genocide claims and the Kurdish issue would be
dropped from the EU agenda by the new status.
`It depends upon the preferences of Turkey's political classes: If
they are glad to see Turkish society represented solely as a land of
merchants and with a strong military and they feel content to be
perceived as such, they could easily accept the offer,' Insel said.
A choice beyond what it tells:
However, Insel warned those who consider the offer worth thinking
about by highlighting the probable consequences.
`Considering Turkish society's potential, the status onoffer is not
a particularly pleasant one. What they say is, briefly, `We won't
trouble you on cultural or human rights or on environmental issues. If
you choose to be a society lacking in democratic rights that violates
human rights and pollutes its environment, you can continue like
that.' Those who approach the offer sympathetically will not have the
right to complain when Turkey's image in the world becomes that of a
country with a strong military with cheap labor,'Insel said.
On the other hand, whether Turkey and the EU end up with a concept
of ` privileged partnership' status depends entirely upon Turkey's
stance towards it, the European observer emphasized.
Whenever it feels threatened, Turkey becomes entrenched, and quite
often that small psychological gap between Turkey and the rest of the
world becomes a chasm that leads to the country's isolation; an
isolation that is, of course, self-created. Whether the `privileged
partnership' status again stirs this national defense mechanism will
display whether Turkey will pursue its thorny path towards integration
with the international community; or whether it will decide to close
in on itself, again.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------
values
Sunday, June 12, 2005
DIPLOMACY
EMINE KART
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Neither Turkish society nor Turkey's decision-makers have thus far
indicated any enthusiasm for a non-official offer called a `privileged
partnership' status that is supposed to eventually supplant its target
of full membership of the European Union. Until recently, this
so-called status -- that barely has any real definition -- has
gradually begun to be dressed up, again non-officially.
The question is whether Turkey being cool to the offer will actually
spell whether it is in fact committed to full EU membership; or
whether it will cave in to such a fanciful concept and ignore its
long-term efforts of becoming a member of the `elite club.'
Only twenty days before France's overwhelming rejection of the
European Constitution in a referendum at the end of last month,
Gündüz Aktan, a former Turkish ambassador now writing for Radikal
daily, said in his article that the head of a French think-tank known
to be close to French President Jacques Chirac conveyed Aktan's
proposals on the `privileged partnership' status.
Aktan, who is also head of the Ankara based think-tank ASAM (Center
for Eurasian Strategic Studies), said that it was unknown whether
those proposals, concretely listed for the first time, would be
adopted by the French government as an official standpoint.
A misleadingly attractive trial offer:
According to Professor Ahmet Insel, lecturing both at Sorbonne
University in Paris and Galatasaray University in Istanbul, the recent
offer suggestedby Aktan seems `thoroughly thought out.'
`This offer wishes to create an appeal for the current balance of
power and components of that balance within Turkey,' Insel said in a
telephone interview with the Turkish Daily News (TDN).
A European observer of Turkey-EU relations ascertained the samepoint
within the offer; `The offer is falsely attractive to some of the
security elite in Turkey,' he told the TDN.
`From the European side, it completely ignores the psychological
drive of Turkey towards the EU,' the observer said, adding: `The
recent offer provides that Turkey's membership talks last between 15
and 20 years and that they are 'open-ended.' Thus; a `privileged
partnership' could be established relatively quickly. Turkey may
decide to continue its full membership talks and these two can
simultaneously co-exist, according to the offer.'
Two channels of annexation to the EU has been introduced to Turkey
via this offer, one of which is an economy-trade channel by expanding
the existing customs union agreement between the bloc and Turkey via
including that which has not thus far been included in the customs
union.
The second channel of annexation is Turkey being included within the
bloc's security policy within the framework of the European Security
and Defense Policy (ESDP), which is considered a step parallel with
progress towards a common foreign and security policy.
Annexation or full integration:
Insel said the offer suggests Turkey will be allowed to have a voice
in some fields as a partner of the bloc, despite not having a place in
the political institutions of the actual bloc as a member. He believes
that there are two striking aspects within the content of the offer.
`Through the inclusion of Turkey in the ESDP, the offeraims at
wooing those circles in Turkey who want to integrate the country into
international society at its strategic value,' Insel said.
It was Angela Merkel, the German conservative leader, seen as highly
likely to replace Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government in
elections expected to be held this autumn, who first mooted the
concept of `privileged partnership' during her visit to Turkey in
February last year.
Merkel said at the time she observed `pretty simple andpretty good
perspectives' for Turkey's inclusion within the scope of the ESDP. She
described these opportunities as a part of what her party, the
Christian Democrat Union (CDU), defines as a `privileged partnership'
or a `third way.'
Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who is known as
the founding father of the EU Constitution; Nicolas Sarkozy,
presidential hopeful and leader of the ruling French Union for Popular
Movement (UMP); and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel are among
those names who support Merkel's concept.
What happens to cultural diversity?
Merkel and the support-base for her idea bases its argument upon
cultural grounds, with Merkel mainly citing Turkey's predominantly
Muslim populationas a reason for wanting to keep it out of the
15-nation, and overwhelmingly Christian, bloc.
In a disappointed tone following Merkel's visit, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it made him `sad' to hear the
argument that Turkey didn't fit into the EU because it was `culturally
different.' He added, `We see no cultural unity in Europe, no
`Christian club' and no geographical whole.'
Insel said the recent offer reflects a view that is dominated by a
tendency to see Turkey solely as a trading and security partner of the
European bloc.
`We can see that Turkey's cultural, political or demographic
contributions to the bloc are not considered as `interesting' or
`worth taking into consideration' by those backing that view. It is
thought provoking to see astronger tendency to see Turkey solely as a
nation of merchants with a strong military,' Insel said.
To settle for being solely a merchant's and a military society:
Given that the offer claims not to entirely exclude the possibility
of Turkey's full entry into the bloc with a `privileged partnership'
status being `a transitional period' so that it can run parallel to
entry negotiations, Insel emphasized that it was already clear that
this transitional period would be quite lengthy.
As for Turkish society, the status is likely to be considered as a
compromise. Yet one wonders if those facts within the offer introduced
as`the most attractive aspect of the `privileged partnership' formula'
might gradually woo Turkey's decision-makers, particularly regarding
the long period of entry negotiations and aggravations ahead.
As listed by Aktan; a number of foreign policy issues are the
following ` attractive points,' namely; the Cyprus dispute, the Aegean
problem,the Armenian genocide claims and the Kurdish issue would be
dropped from the EU agenda by the new status.
`It depends upon the preferences of Turkey's political classes: If
they are glad to see Turkish society represented solely as a land of
merchants and with a strong military and they feel content to be
perceived as such, they could easily accept the offer,' Insel said.
A choice beyond what it tells:
However, Insel warned those who consider the offer worth thinking
about by highlighting the probable consequences.
`Considering Turkish society's potential, the status onoffer is not
a particularly pleasant one. What they say is, briefly, `We won't
trouble you on cultural or human rights or on environmental issues. If
you choose to be a society lacking in democratic rights that violates
human rights and pollutes its environment, you can continue like
that.' Those who approach the offer sympathetically will not have the
right to complain when Turkey's image in the world becomes that of a
country with a strong military with cheap labor,'Insel said.
On the other hand, whether Turkey and the EU end up with a concept
of ` privileged partnership' status depends entirely upon Turkey's
stance towards it, the European observer emphasized.
Whenever it feels threatened, Turkey becomes entrenched, and quite
often that small psychological gap between Turkey and the rest of the
world becomes a chasm that leads to the country's isolation; an
isolation that is, of course, self-created. Whether the `privileged
partnership' status again stirs this national defense mechanism will
display whether Turkey will pursue its thorny path towards integration
with the international community; or whether it will decide to close
in on itself, again.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------
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