Thoughts about Turkey joining the EU
The International Herald Tribune runs a nice article titled Will Turkey join the EU club? where they review the main positions on the possibility of Turkey joining the EU.
Some, like Ana Palacio, say that letting Turkey into the EU would be a significant strategic gesture towards the muslim world. Governments that support Turkish EU aspirations include Spain, Britain, Italy and the Netherlands.
Others say that Turkey’s religious and cultural heritage, as well as its bad democratic and human rights record, is incompatible with the EU. It would also cost 11.3?���� billion per year in agricultural subsidies.
September 13, 2004 Filed under: politics
2 comments
I listened to a seminar about terrorism at Kulturhuset in Stockholm on Saturday (in memorial of Anna Lindh) and among alot of other things the participants discussed the issue about Turkey joining the EU. Everybody seemed to agree on that it is crucial for Europe/USA to get Turkey in. It will be a support for moderate islam and a important sign to the rest of the world that christians and muslims agree on more then what they disagree about.
While getting Turkey into the EU might send an important message to the muslim world, it seems to me that many issues within the EU must be resolved first. The agricultural subsidy policy, for instance, should be reviewed. It is costing too much money, and it is clear that subsidies are no long-term solution for the problems of the agricultural sector.
Intregration issues should be addressed too. Europe is already in trouble trying to deal with large numbers of islamic immigrants. We still have to find a good way to integrate this new islamic communities into european culture. To make this in a way satisfactory to both parties and without any of the parties losing its own identity might be impossible. This is mostly what makes me doubtful about the convenience of Turkey integration into EU. The EU is, for me, as much about cultural union as about economic and political issues; and this kind of union might simply be not possible with Turkey.
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