Turkey's membership in European Union is an ongoing topic not only within the EU but also overseas, in the US. However, there is a clear division between those who support Turkey on their way to Europe and those who strongly oppose the idea of Turkey in the EU. Please check the following short movies:
Obama on Turkey membership
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2hHcWI7PY
Sarkozy on Turkey membership
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=3rzBlZhD48M&feature=related
Merkel on Turkey membership
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZGnkMozW10&feature=related
Turkey's future in the EU is not only a concern of the major western powers such as Germany or France but also their citizens. Euro barometer polls show that the share of the EU population that opposes Turkish EU membership has risen steadily over the last decade, and since 2005 it has exceeded 50 per cent (Zaunbauer, 2008). Furthermore, the Poll from June 2007 found that only 16 per cent of French voters were for Turkish accession and in Germany support for Turkish membership was at the level of mere 21 per cent. (Zaunbauer, 2008) This state of affairs exists because for an average European, Turkey is a good place for a vacation but often there is nothing much beyond that. Turkey continues to be branded as a country that is still far from meeting the EU norms and values and too culturally different to ever join the European club. Unfortunately, for far too many people, Turkey is a place where human right are violated, women are marginalised and there is no freedom whatsoever. Moreover, cases of honour killings make things even worse and badly damage Turkey's reputation. According to the government figures, there were more than 200 cases of honour killings in 2008 which represented half of all of the murders committed in the country (Paul, 2009).These arguments indicate only one thing, namely, that if Turkey wants to join the EU it needs to work really hard on its image abroad.
In 2008, the Turkish government established a Public Diplomacy Agency (PDA) geared toward transmitting Turkey’s foreign policy perspectives. The new agency serves currently as a network between the government, NGOs and think tanks as well as implies a variety of tools including publications, seminars, television programs, and film in order to inform and influence foreign publics (Balci, 2008). The Turkish PDA also has a department which specifically focuses on accession to the European Union. In 2009 Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that Turkish public diplomacy will be supported by strategic communication tools including social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Moreover, on Jan 30th, 2010, Turkish PM issued a circular order, underlining the importance of public diplomacy and announcing the new official Public Diplomacy initiative. Summing up, even though Turkey experienced great deficit in the area of public diplomacy, it looks like they really try to change things for better. However, how successful their public diplomacy will be, only their EU Membership can prove it.
Sources:
Wolfgang Zaunbauer, ‘Die öffentliche Meinung zum EU-Beitritt der Türkei’, Österreichisches Institut für Sicherheitspolitik, November 2008
Paul A., Turkey’s plummeting image in the EU, 13 May 2009, Wednesday, http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/columnists-175119-turkeys-plummeting-image-in-the-eu.html
Balci K., Gov’t goes on public diplomacy offensive, 28 April 2008,
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=140284
Friday, 26 March 2010
Will the EU have a new member?
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As I see it in addition to the issues stated above there are two others which should be taken into consideration. They are population and economics.
ReplyDeleteEurope has a population of 731 million people, the largest country being Germany with 83 million people. Turkey has 71 million people. While Turkeys population is steadily increasing Germany's is in fact decreasing. Lets say Europe decides to add another 71 million to its 731 million, very soon Turkey will surpasses that of Germany and will be in the majority. With all of the cultural differences there will be distinct problems which I don't think the EU is ready to take on board as of yet.
The problem with economics is this: Turkeys per-capita income is very low and would have a negative effect on the EU's economy if they had to join. As we are currently experiencing with Greece the EU does not look kindly on this negative situation and so until Turkey has developed to the appropriate economic levels joining cannot be an option.
I can see why the EU would like them to join. They straddle both Europe and Asia making their geographical location ideal as they are a key regional power. This in terms of trade and even influence would be beneficial.
Although ı agree on some of your comments, I dont agree your opinions about Turkey's image because Turkey is not all about holidays, Turkey has the 15th biggest economy in the world and 5th in the Europe. If you were right, why would the Eastern European countries such as BulgAria and Greece be the members of EU.At the same time, the unemployment rate in Turkey is better than most of the EU countries. When some of the EU countries are decreasing their economies,Turkey's increasing. Finally, it is common that developing states have some problems but will Turkey still want to be member of EU in the future?
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