By Martin Banks - 19th January 2009
The question of whether Turkey belongs in the west should not be considered any longer
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attacked “negativity” among some Europeans towards his country’s future membership of the EU.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, he said such an atttude was the main reason for a sharp decline amongst Turks for the country joining the EU.
“There has been a lot of negativity coming out of Europe about Turkish membership and this has affected levels of public support in the country,” he said.
From a high of 75 per cent in 2004, support has fallen to 50 per cent, he said.
“This has nothing to do about the reform process going on within Turkey but, rather, is a reflection of this negativity.”
In a major speech on Turkey-EU relations, Erdogan stressed that EU membership remains a “top priority” for Ankara and that he hopes progress on the issue will “leap” forward in 2009.
But he said movement was currently blocked on the opening of 18 negotiating chapters, or policy areas, towards membership, which he blamed on “unrelated political issues”, such as the ongoing Cyprus problem.
Erdogan, PM since March 2003, also voiced concern that this June’s European elections would be used to perpetrate “this negativity”, saying he hoped “everything will be done to counter this”.
“For us,” he said, “there is no alternative to membership, and I mean full membership, of the EU for Turkey. We don’t want any special privileges or to be a burden on the EU. We just seek equal, just treatment.
“Turkey has a young, dynamic population and it is clear Turkish accession will benefit everyone. It is a win-win situation.”
He went on, “It has been claimed that, recently, not much has been done towards progressing the membership issue but I would say that in 2008 more than 30 laws were enacted relating to the EU process and that another 30 are on the agenda of the Turkish parliament.”
These include the commercial code and draft legislation on trade unions, he said.
He also pointed to the recent launch of a Kurdish television channel in Turkey, which he described as a “landmark” move and showed Turkey's willingness to meet membership criteria.
Erdogan also said it was important to consider the consequences of not expanding the EU further, or of having a “fortress Europe.”
“The question of whether Turkey belongs in the west should not be considered any longer. To Turks [to ask this] is seen as an insult," he declared.
Erdogan, who was speaking at a breakfast policy on briefing organised by the European Policy Centre, flew to Brussels on Sunday for a visit aimed at boosting the Muslim country's troubled bid for EU accession.
The trip, his first to Brussels in four years, comes as Ankara faces EU pressure to speed up reforms in a decisive year, and amid questions over its commitment.
EU officials say privately that Turkey, which began accession talks in 2005, may face a deadlock if progress is not made this year, while analysts warn that trust is ebbing away and that the two sides must rebuild momentum.
On Monday, he was due to hold talks with commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign affairs supremo Javier Solana. Later, he is due to meet the leaders of parliament’s main political groups and the assembly's president Hans-Gert Pottering.
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