Turkey and the European Union

Baladad
Jamias
Majarocon
Pinpin
Ravago
History of Turkey
One of the oldest continuously inhabited
community
Fabled city of Troy
Mentioned in the works of antiquity
Homer's The Iliad
The Anatolian Peninsula
Settled by many different empires
Hittites
Assyrian
Greeks
Romans
Christianity in Turkey
Power of the Roman Empire moves west
Emperor Constantine the Great
Makes Christianity the main religion in a
mostly Muslim region in 324
Fall of Rome and the beginning of
Constantinople
600 year of Ottoman Rule
1453 marks the end of the Classical Period
Constantinople was captured by the Ottomans
Start of the Byzantine Empire
600 year rule of the Ottoman starts
Progressively declines in economy and power
Becomes known as the Sick man in Europe
World War I
Joins the Central Powers
Allies itself with Austria and Germany
Subsequent defeat in the war
Nationalism begins
Ask for reform in the government and liberty
Becomes the Republic of Turkey on October
29, 1923
Structure of Government
Republican Parliamentary Government
Republic: supreme power is held by the
people
Parliamentary: legislative branch which is
elected by the people
Abdullah Gul is the current president and
head of state
Executive Branch
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Council of Ministers
Nominated by the PM; appointed by the
President
Legislative Branch
Unicameral Grand National Assembly
550 seats
Elected by popular vote
Judicial Branch
6 high courts
Constitutional Court
High Court of Appeals
Council of State
Court of Accounts
Military High Court of Appeals
Military High Administrative
Military
Over 1 million members
Army, Navy, Air Force
Second to the US in personnel
Second largest armed force in NATO
Missions: Somalia, Gulf War, War in
Afghanistan
30,000 troops in Cyprus
Land Area
Transcontinental country
97% in Asia; 3% in Europe
783,562 square kilometers of land
13,930 square kilometers of water
Economy
Highly developed
2010 GDP $741.9 billion
Moving into industry from being an agricultural
state
Textile, clothing, automotive, construction,
electronics
Increase in privatization and entrepreneurship

Demographics
Melting pot of ethnicity
Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Abkazians,
Albanians, Arabs, Assyrians, Bosniaks,
Georgians, Bulgarians, Roma
78,785,548 million people; 17
th
most populous
nation
1.2% growth rate
Increase integration with the West
Founding member of the UN, OECD, OIC and
G-20 Major economy
Relations with Europe essential in Turkish
foreign policy
Major ties with the United States
United Nations
Established by: the Charter of the UN and State
of International Court of Justice in 1945
Replaced the League of Nations
To prevent another world war
Turkey one of its founding members
The United Nations
Facilitates cooperation in:
International law
International security
Economic development
Social progress
Human rights
Achievement of world peace

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
Intergovernmental military alliance
Mutual response to an attack from an external
party
External= non-member
Turkey joined in 1952
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD)
34 countries
To stimulate economic progress and
globalization (world trade)
Advocates democracy in market economy
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD)
Provides an avenue for:
Comparing experiences
Identifying good practices
Finding answers to common problems
Coordinate international policies of its
members
Turkey's final goal
Full membership in the EU
Associate member in 1963
Taking steps to reach that goal
Close ties with the EU member states
European Union and the United
States
Soviet threat as a cause for alliance
US support for Turkish acceptance in the EU
role model for the Islamic world
The United States strongly supports Turkey's
bid to become a member of the European
Union -Pres. Obama
EU and the US
Mutual interests at the heart of the friendship
US needs Turkey's support on Syria and Iran
Cyprus as a de facto
Accession negotiations catalyst for settlement
(dispute between Cyprus and Turkey)
Turkey cannot veto against Cyprus accession
Integration with European
Organization
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Organization of European Economic
Cooperation (OEEC, later OECD)
Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE, later OSCE)
European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD)
Article 28 of the Ankara Agreement
mentions:
As soon as the operation of this Agreement
has advanced far enough to justify envisaging
full acceptance by Turkey of the obligation
arising out the Treaty establishing the
Community, the Contracting Parties shall
examine the possibility of accession of Turkey
to the Community.
Grounds for rejections
Community was undergoing major changes due
to the adoption of the Single European Act
Economic and political situation of Turkey at
that time had been deemed as not ready
Economic Objections with Turkish
membership
Turkey's long history of macroeconomic
instability culminated in the 2001 financial crisis
Causes were poor public finance
management
Fragile banking system
Backed by International Monetary Fund
Reform program for swift recovery
Reform program
Clean up of the banking system
Independence of the Central Bank
Closure of numerous extra-budgetary funds
Flexible exchange rates
Tough fiscal policies
New legal framework for the energy sector,
agriculture, civil aviation, telecommunication
Remains in the deficit despite
reforms
Public debt and government budget deficit still
high
Remarkably low level of foreign direct
investment
Turkey's GDP is modest; per capita income is
low
Large-scale migration flows inside Turkey
Large agricultural sector places a heavy burden
on the country's taxpayers
Economic Objection to the EU
Due to the small size of its economy-- at less
than 2% of the EU's GDPTurkey's accession
would have a minimal impact on the EU
economy. For Turkey, on the other hand, the
consequences would be significant and highly
beneficial.
Economic instability
0
5
10
15
20
25
1
2
3
high population growth + underdeveloped economy
= unappealing qualities for EU
domestic and foreign policies
membership privileges such as: EC structural funds
influx of Turkish immigrants into the EU
free movement of its labor forces
Obstacles in Domestic and
Foreign Policies
Main Domestic and Foreign Policy
Issues
Turkey Military Coup in 1980
Turkey being a predominantly Muslim nation
Unresolved issues between Greece over
Cyprus
Landmass: 97% Asia, 3% Europe
Democracy and Human Rights Accord
Turkey Military Coup in 1980
Councils critical response: expected
As soon as the Parliamentary Assembly resumed
Numerous moves called for Turkeys
suspension
Prerequisite of membership (statute):
Democratic form of government
Expulsion until democracy is restored
Military Regime
Frances critical view
Inter-state complaint to the Human Rights
Commission
Concerns through diplomatic channels
Britains concerns
Bilateral talks with military regime
To persuade generals to moderate their
handling of domestic issues
Scandinavian countries:
Critical of the military regime in Ankara, right
from the get-go
Also brought Turkey before the CHR

Strongly condemned the coup that took place in
1980, (September)

EU organizations:
Stayed uncompromising critics of the military
regime

Growing Muslim Population
One of the most sensitive of issue
Cultural and religious differences

EU identifies itself as a cultural and religious
mosaic that recognizes and respects DIVERSITY

Supporters of Turkeys EU bid believes on this
vision

Issues on Cyprus
Future of the divided island of Cyprus: a major
sticking point

Conflict remains unresolved despite the Councils
formula on pushing both Greece and Turkey

Decisive factor in the negotiation process

Issues on Cyprus
Cyprus demands:
official recognition by Turkey
access to Turkish harbors and airports

Turkey demands:
end isolation of North Cyprus

Greece: rejected the compromise


Landmass is mostly in Asia
An age-old debate

Is it possible to establish geographic borders for
Europe?

Does Turkey fit within these borders?
Landmass is mostly in Asia
This is seen by many as a dispute that rests on:
Philosophical
Intellectual

Treaty of Rome: calls for a construction of a union
of European states based on shared common
values


Democracy and Human Rights
Repeatedly expressed publicly and privately by
the West European states
Through bilateral talks

Initially showed a mild reaction

But as time passed, with minimal progress, the EU
grew increasingly tough vs Turkey
Human Rights Issues
In an annual report, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR), the top judicial body to rule on
human rights violations in Europe, found that:

Turkey is by far the worst violator of human rights
among the 47 signatory states of the European
Convention on Human Rights.


Statistics
In statistical data on violation judgments by
country for the period between 1959 and 2009
Turkey 18.81 percent
Italy 16.57 percent
Russia 6.34 percent.

Within this timeframe, 2,295 judgments were
entered for Turkey and only in 46 cases did the
court find no violations.
The most common human rights violation
committed by Turkey was the denial of the right
to a fair trial.
Article 6 of the convention, the right to a fair trial
within a reasonable time.

There have been excessive delays, in violation of
the reasonable time requirement, in civil and
criminal proceedings taking place in Turkish
courts.
Increasing Trend
The report unequivocally finds that in recent years
there has an upward trend for Turkey in terms of
applications allocated to signatry states.

In 2009, Turkey had 4,474 applications in the
court while the number was 3,706 for 2008 and
2,828 for 2007.
Human rights violations in Turkeys east and
southeast have risen dramatically

Some 11,340 human rights violations allegedly
occurred in the region in the first four months of
2011, compared to 4,507 in the same period of
2006 (DiyarbakrHuman Rights Association)

50% increase!
Human Rights Issues
These figures include unsolved murders, torture
[incidents], people who lost their lives in prison
due to not receiving medical treatment and
those who died in conflicts with the police in
protests,

Anyone who opposes, including people who
struggle for human rights, are detained and
arrested,
U.S. State Departments 2011 Report
Cases of torture, beatings and abuse by security forces.
Prison conditions improved but remained poor, with overcrowding
and insufficient staff training
Overly close relationship between judges and prosecutors
Excessively long trials were a problem.
The government limited freedom of expression through the use of
constitutional restrictions and numerous laws
Press freedom declined during the year. There were limitations on
Internet freedom. Courts and an independent board ordered
telecommunications providers to block access to Web sites on
numerous occasions,
Violence against women, including honor killings and rape,
remained a widespread problem.