The EU and Turkey: steering a safer path through the storms

...Turkey has grown in influence and authority as a regional power in the Western Balkans, Central and South Asia and the Horn of Africa. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has been a key interlocutor, not least on Afghanistan where he made a huge personal contribution to last month's conference in Istanbul. With Turkey as host, for the first time, Afghanistan's neighbours have agreed to implement political and security measures to underpin the cause of reconciliation...

Turkish economic growth has been exponential. Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world and will assume the Presidency of the G20 in 2015. Turkey is the EU's seventh largest trade partner. This growth has been underpinned by close economic ties with the EU. 46% of Turkey's trade is with the EU. More than two thirds of Turkey's foreign direct investment is from the EU. With growth in Turkey around 10% in the first half of this year, there is enormous potential for the close EU-Turkey economic relationship to deepen.

Turkey has also transformed its governance, society and democracy. Civilian control of the military has been firmly embedded and judicial reform is underway. The rights of minorities have gradually improved -- most recently through legislation helping minority religious foundations to recover property confiscated in the 1930s. And Turkey is now embarking on a new transformation discussing replacement of the current constitution drafted by the military in 1980.

The EU has been at the heart of this transformation since the new millennium, the accession negotiations helping to guide the Turkish reform process. In support of Turkey's reforms, the EU has committed technical assistance and funding worth over €750 million in 2011 including work to strengthen democratic institutions, protect fundamental rights and strengthen civil society.

The EU would be better managed if it were run by EuroDisney -- at least the fairy tale would be believable.

Turkey has also transformed its governance, society and democracy. Civilian control of the military has been firmly embedded and judicial reform is underway. The rights of minorities have gradually improved -- most recently through legislation helping minority religious foundations to recover property confiscated in the 1930s. And Turkey is now embarking on a new transformation discussing replacement of the current constitution drafted by the military in 1980.

The EEC (”Common Market”) predecessor of the EU has been teasing the Turks about membership since about 1960, and the historically-challenged op-ed here doesn’t mention much about that. IOW, I’d have agreed with you wholeheartedly prior to the Russian escalation over the Syrian uprising.

The jokers who put their names to this op-ed, plus the nameless faceless Euro-crats who actually wrote it, put in some lip service about Cyprus, but the truth is, the EU is suddenly all about economics, and the Greek and Greek-Cypriote objections to Turkey in the EU will be ignored and/or overriden.

The big mystery to these bozos is, just how expansive does the EU expect the Turkish economy to be after its attempt at a common market of the Middle East fell apart with the Syrian disintegration, Assad and Iran threatening Turkey, Turkey invading Iraqi Kurdistan repeatedly at at the drop of a hat over the past twenty years, Iran about to experience the same uprisings as the Arab states have been enjoying, US pullout from Iraq (that has meant at least some commercial activity in Turkey; so for that matter has the US involvement in Afghanistan), and Erdogan’s campaign of hate against Israel, the one country in the whole Middle East that makes a reliable ally?

Turkey has also transformed its governance, society and democracy. Civilian control of the military has been firmly embedded and judicial reform is underway.

Freedom House:Journalists' Arrests Signal Growing Press Freedom Backslide in Turkey, March, 2011

"The ongoing harassment and detention of journalists in Turkey, including a number who have been held for two years without trial, represents an alarming threat to press freedom. Freedom House calls on Turkish leaders to reverse this trend by instituting policies to protect media independence and releasing from detention journalists held in cases where charges have not been brought or serious evidence has not been produced. . . ."

It ain't just journalists it's military active and retired, professors, law enforcement -- anyone who does not go along.

Great! Now the Islamists can impose a Iran-style Islamic "republic".

Fethullah Gulen McCarthyism Free Speech

(Here they mean McCarthyism in the accepted pejorative sense.)

Some say Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish-born cleric living in the United States, has helped clear the path to what the AK Party desires. Zaman is the main AK Party newspaper if I am not mistaken. Gulen and his people are said to own much of Turkey's press.

From the link: "Unless you write for Gulen's newpapers Our buddy Gulen just doesn't like criticism, in fact -- anyone that reports 'unfavorable,' or truthful information about him and his gang of Gulenites, is subject to his wrath. In the United States, when the truth about him his exposed, his comrades like to threaten lawsuits; but in Turkey -- they just set the dissenters up on fabricated charges and have them jailed -- out of sight -- out of mind."

For the Gulen followers signing up with FR to point me to the "truth": this is called free speech something that Islamists cannot tolerate. I understand that.

You can practice by expressing your opinions here.

I'll respect your opinions but I will not be taught what Gulen says. People coming to the United States are suppose to be learning about the U.S. of A. -- if that ain't cool then get the hell out. Please.

Only 11 FMs from EU countries put their names to it, and mostly smaller states, but the UK and Germany are both involved. This will benefit them domestically in some fashion, how remains to be seen. If it were not so, they wouldn’t have taken the political risk. It’s non-binding. Also, it’s likely to be related to the Syrian situation, as Turkey’s entangled itself in that and in Israel’s and Cyprus’ partnership to develop offshore hydrocarbons — Russia’s naval presence in the e Med is primarily from that. Standing up with Turkey in this op-ed can also be seen as a bit of a rebuke to the Russians. The main risk for the UK is its standing with the Greeks, but in the end the Cypriotes and Israelis will continue to work it out. Anyway, the Turks are being played, and they’re smart enough to figure that out.

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