European presses are roaring about Turkey hitting another milestone this week in EU (European Union) negotiations. Do this week’s events mean that the EU is finally opening the doors to its first Muslim member?

Turkey’s persistence to date has been admirable. The country’s desire to be a part of this club dates back all the way to 1959, when the country requested special relations with the EEC (European Economic Community). In response to the 1959 request, the EEC politely told the country to come back later, when its “circumstances” had changed. What they really meant to say was that Turkey’s stifling censorship laws, roiling inflation and military suppression of political rivalry wasn’t exactly the “image” the club was going for.

The EEC received a second application from the country in 1963. This time they did Turkey a favor by signing the Ankara agreement, a piece of paper that had fuzzy language about “envisaging a future relationship" in the form of some kind of customs union and “bringing closer” the two bodies in economic and trade matters.

Turkey pushed for and won clearer terms in various subsequent agreements during the 70s, but then the relationship suffered again due to political turmoil in the early 80s. But the country persisted, and by 1987 Turkey had made enough headway to finally present its first application for full membership.

Still, it’s been 18 years since this first application for full membership, and still no dice.

So why is the EU so hesitant?

From an economic perspective, Turkey has made a lot of progress over the years, but it is still not a picture of great health. The country has a large current account deficit and its government is laden with debt totaling 75% of GDP. This is partly a result of Turkey’s shaky recovery from its recent financial crisis in 2001, when corruption and unsound lending practices led to a failed banking system. Unemployment still hovers around 10%, which is not terrible, but not great either. The government isn’t helping things by continuing to meddle in banking, electricity and commodity markets. Upon accession, the better off countries in the EU would be required to pony up the cash to help Turkey overcome these problems.

Allowing the accession of Turkey is also a great political challenge for the current members. Turkey’s 70 million people, upon integration, would be allowed to travel freely without passport checks across EU borders, and, under the EU’s free movement of labor policy, these low-cost workers would compete for current Europeans’ jobs. In addition, the EU’s electorate won’t tolerate human rights offenses, and the latest progress report on the country shows that it still has a lot of room for improvement in this area.
Torture, ill-treatment of certain societies (Kurds), limits to freedom of expression and religion, and inequal rights for women and minorities all need to be remedied.

Not surprisingly, experts say it will take at least a decade for Turkey to finish the last “fixes” requested by the EU and be allowed entry. Despite the hard work ahead of them, Turkey has a great interest in following the EU rules and pursuing its goal of membership. To them, entry means money. Once the world has seen that the country can behave well enough to get into the club, they will be much more likely to invest the much-needed capital within its borders.

Besides, after 45 years of trying, what’s another 10?

Posted by Michelle Smith on October 8, 2005 04:52 PM