Why Turkish Accession is important for the European Union's future
01 Apr 2008
Jim Murphy, Minister for Europe, gave a speech during his visit to Istanbul on Tuesday 1 April on Turkey's accession to the EU. He said ' Turkish accession is about engaging the forces of globalisation rather than retreating from them.'| Speaker: | Jim Murphy MP |
| Event: | Wilton Park Conference |
| Location: | Istanbul |
Why is Turkish Accession important for the European Union’s future?
I’ve been given twenty minutes to explain the British Government’s position on this. But let me do it in one sentence:
Turkish accession is about engaging the forces of globalisation rather than retreating from them.
Effective influence in the modern world is about nations coming together in alliances. In the period following the second world war, Turkey joined with other European countries against the greatest threat of that time, communism.
Now we have new threats – and new opportunities too. Those threats and opportunities call out for an even deeper co-operation between sovereign nation states.
In today’s world, no country can afford to go it alone. Any country that tries to insulate itself in its past, will face a future of isolation. This is a time to renew alliances, to forge stronger links and to look at common futures.
History is littered with international institutions that have become stale, stuck in the past – monuments to the era when they were founded.
But the EU has never made this mistake. Five waves of enlargement have kept it relevant and influential.
We knew in 1989 that the fall of the Berlin Wall would transform Europe, and it would transform the EU. And that it would mean change. But the EU has constantly changed, evolved, shifted into something new. And in 1989 the prize of a reunited Europe was worth the remarkable effort.
Today I believe Turkish accession will be a mutual benefit for both Turkey and the EU.
I believe that Turkey and the EU have a shared destiny.
This accession will be the most significant event for the EU for the foreseeable future.
Turkey’s accession will be as important for the EU’s relations with the Islamic World as the accession of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was for closing the final chapter of the cold war.
Of course, we’re not there yet. Turkish accession is some time off. And this conference today, just as we’ve finished a big institutional debate, is a piece of futurology. A conversation about where we go next.
When will Turkey join? What will the voting weights be? What will the budget need to be?
I’m sure that I’m not the only one in the room exhausted by this kind of question. For me, the last few months have been a series of long nights in the House of Commons debating the minute details of the Lisbon Treaty.
So it’s a relief to suggest to you all that this morning I’m not going to go into detail about the 35 chapters of negotiation. I remember as a new Member of Parliament going in to the House of Lords for the first time. I remember the Lord who was speaking saying: “My Lordships, seventeenthly…”! I’m not about to have a conversation which ends “thirtyfifthly”! It’s impossible to be certain, at this stage, what the impact of Turkish accession will be on the EU budget. And to those who worry about economic disparity, the Turkey which joins should have enjoyed several more years of the dynamic 7% p.a. growth we have seen over the last five. Turkey is expected to become one of the top 10 economies in the world by 2050
Our aim at present should be to get back on track with our “Plan A” – not discussing a “Plan B” or some other alternative – Turkey and Europe moving closer together within the European family.
Politics is the art of the possible. No-one demonstrates that more than Ataturk, a man who created a new alphabet, a new calendar and an entirely new outlook for the crumbled Empire of the Ottoman Sultans.
Back in 1933, Ataturk rallied the Turkish people to advance their country “to the level of the most prosperous and the most civilized countries of the world”.
Europe has been too slow to recognise and embrace this vocation.
But now we have our own policy based on the art of the possible. The art of the European possible is European enlargement.
We saw the impossible become possible in 2004, when the bipolar world of the Cold War ended finally as a result of EU enlargement.
Now the EU must wake up to the reality that our relationship with Turkey is a new prize. With a new significance. Because today, there are new threats to counter and new friendships to be forged. And Turkish accession, seen at its most strategic, is about Europe demonstrating the power of an alliance of civilisations and repudiating once and for all the notion of a clash of civilisations.
Shared Benefits of Turkish Accession
The crucial thing for both sides of this negotiation – Turkey and the European Union – is to map out how both will benefit from Turkish accession.
The UK has a clear view of how we want the EU to develop over the short and longer term. Gordon Brown has called this his vision of a Global Europe.
This means Europe must move into a new era, where its chief task is not to continually recreate its institutions, but to influence the world. In effect, to embrace globalisation.
The European Union is a paradox. On one hand, it’s the international community’s clearest demonstration of regional co-operation and sharing sovereignty for mutual advantage. But on the other hand, over the last fifty years, the EU has mainly been concerned with creating itself. Too often, it’s been insular and inward looking.
The Treaty of Lisbon marks the end of that era and what, I hope, will now see, is Europe taking a much more active role in the rest of the world.
And I also believe that Turkey itself, a country with an imperial heritage and strong national identity will see Europe as a means to develop greater global influence, both politically and, importantly, economically.
The first mutual benefit is strategic: Turkey as a crossroads between East and West, Islam and Christianity, has more than symbolic value. Turkey has a better set of relations in the Middle East than any existing EU member. This will bring a new dimension to the EU’s foreign policy. And both of us, Europe and Turkey need security in the region.
Turkey already enjoys close relations with Israel and the Palestinians, with Syria and Lebanon as well as with the Iranian leadership. And of course, Turkey plays a crucial role in the Iraq neighbours initiative, working on easing Sunni-Shia divisions and economic development.
Turkey plays an important security role – sending troops to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon and, of course, as a major contributor in Afghanistan.
But how will EU membership benefit Turkey? This is the big question, which there hasn’t been enough conversation about. Firstly, Turkey will find itself within a political space where, for over fifty years, there has been no war. Where disputes are rare and resolved amicably. This political stability and security – is the great strategic benefit of EU membership.
Turkey will also gain influence. After accession to the EU Turkey’s voice will become more powerful. It won’t just be the voice of one proud nation, but will influence and speak on behalf of many nations – all members of the EU.
Turkey is also an inspiration to modernising and liberalising thinkers in the Muslim world – the most successful example of democracy in a majority Muslim country. For Turkey to enter a European Union, which, is the culmination of a largely Christian tradition, and the origin of Western political thought, would allow both Turkey and the EU to send a very powerful message about their values, and above all, the power of communication and dialogue.
Another vital shared benefit is our economic interests. Turkey is a huge and growing market for EU exports and vice versa. We should look to Turkey to act as an economic bridge to central Asia and the Middle East. In the face of global trends, Turkey’s strong and enduring manufacturing base complements the service economies of other European nations.
Energy is increasingly sited as a strong reason to support Turkish accession, because, in an uncertain world, we need as many alternative routes of supply as possible.
Our security has become more and more dependent on international work on cross border crime, whether its terrorism, or drugs trafficking or illegal migration.
Turkey’s geography inevitably makes it a transit route for smuggling. This trade causes damage not just to EU societies but to Turkey too, and closer co-operation will help us both.
And we can’t forget climate change, the clearest example of a global threat which no individual nation can stop alone. We want Turkey to become an example to all emerging economies that fast renewable growth goes hand in hand with a low carbon economy. Turkey has the potential to become a world leader on renewable energies and take a leadership role in the post-Kyoto framework.
Europe needs to face up to these big global challenges. And it can start with Turkey, a candidate state which is ideally placed to help Europe tackle globalisation.
Seen from here, Turkish accession is a win win situation.
Getting the Message Across
But we need to get this message across more simply and more clearly to those who fear Turkish’s membership of the EU. To those that say Turkey is too big, too different and too Muslim to join the EU, I say turning our back on a country because it's population is mostly Muslim is the biggest gift we can give the extremists.
My advice to the sceptics in other European capitals is this: come and see modern Turkey.
Come and see a country which increasingly resembles Western European countries in its values and ambitions and achievements.
The Enlargement process is, at its purest, a dialogue. A dialogue across a huge spectrum of activity, based on a shared aim – closer co-operation.
We often concentrate on the political problems rather than the great web of contacts that bind Europe and Turkey together.
In terms of Turkey, we need to see three factors at work:
• Europe needs to be clear about what we expect;
• Turkey must deliver and be seen to deliver;
• And we need to communicate better with governments and populations more generally, about what is expected and what has already been achieved.
Pressure Points of the Enlargement Process
Turkish accession has its critics who say that Turkey isn’t ready. It’s not the Turkey of yesterday, or even the Turkey of today that will join the European Union. It is the reformed Turkey of the future. Turkey knows that it cannot join until it meets the high standards required for EU membership.
But let me be equally clear that the EU must send a simple message back to Turkey: if you meet the standards, you will join. Turkey has a European destiny.
The purpose of accession talks is to translate and implement thousands of pages of the EU acquis, so that all European businesses and consumers work on a common basis of law.
Important, technical and, on occasion, difficult technical reforms.
Despite the current distractions in Turkey, it is essential that the government maintain the momentum of economic and political reform and be seen to do so. And, in addition to this, Turkey must tackle a number of political issues. We’ve seen recent progess on the Foundations law. We await progress on Article 301.
The search for a settlement in Cyprus is important. And it is important in its own right. As a guarantor power, like the UK, Turkey has a central role to play in supporting the UN’s efforts in taking forward a settlement process and making substantive progress over the coming months. It will be essential that the two leaders within Cyprus show authority and ownership of the UN process, but this will need to be complemented through Turkey’s positive and constructive encouragement. A solution to the continued division within Cyprus is in all our interests. For its part, the UK is not prepared to countenance failure.
Conclusion
Turkey’s destiny is in the EU and the EU will find a shared destiny with Turkey. Turkey joining the EU would be the natural fulfilment of Ataturk’s vision of modernisation. It would be the natural fulfilment of the EU’s rhetoric on its values, its diversity and pluralism.
This is why, over and over again, the EU has reaffirmed that their aim is Turkish accession. And why the UK remains and will continue to be an advocate of Turkish membership.
So why is there this lingering doubt? Why isn’t Turkey seen like Croatia, or Macedonia?
Turkey is bigger and therefore, it’s negotiations are more complex and, inevitably, more difficult. And I know that some people simply don’t want a country with a predominantly Muslim population in the European Union. That there is a cultural gap, some form of divided loyalties.
The last enlargement that presented this kind of challenge was the UK’s accession in 1973. We were big, we were, in some quarters at least, perceived as awkward. It was whispered that our membership of the Commonwealth wasn’t compatible with potential membership of the European Union. Like Turkey, we were suspected of divided loyalties.
But now, 35 years later, we’ve proved those doubters wrong, I believe. The Commonwealth is thriving and so is the EU. If anything, our links to India and Australia and many states in Africa and the Caribbean have helped create effective EU foreign policy, just as France’s work with the Francophonie does, or Spain and Portugal’s ties to Latin America.
35 years on - it’s impossible to imagine an EU without the UK.
As a country, we gain influence, our businesses gain trade and our citizens gain new freedoms, to live work and study in 26 other European countries. And the same can and should be true for Turkey
Our history is relevant to Turkey’s future. We have changed because of our EU membership, and in turn, we have probably changed the nature of the European Union.
That was thirty years ago. Now the story is about Turkey.
And it’s a big story - the world is watching Europe’s relationship with Turkey, asking how much we can really work together.
Seeing whether we are open to change or closed. Open to challenge or closed. Open to co-operation or closed.
I am convinced, with the world as our audience, we can show that we share a common future, that we want a common future.
That, together, we can redefine what European means. Make true our claims about European values. About our modernity.
Europe wants to reach out to the world. The first hand to grasp belongs to Turkey.
