Balkanalysis.com

This analysis of Turkish-EU relations comes to us from Laszlу Szentesi Zцldi, a Hungarian journalist and foreign affairs adviser in Budapest. Formerly a reporter for Hungarian Television and Duna Television, Laszlу is currently editor of Hungary’s Magyar Nemzet newspaper.

Turkey is preparing for EU membership with reforms- even as military operations continue along its southeastern border.A new chapter has opened in the ever-lasting history of Turkey’s EU accession drive. The European Commission is to release its country report in October, which may be of  key importance, since that will be the document upon on which Brussels will base the decision of whether to start accession talks this year. Ankara made a number of political efforts in the last few weeks so that decision-makers in Brussels would find Turkey ready for membership.

After the release of four imprisoned Kurdish MPs the European Union has no more excuses to refuse Turkey’s membership, Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said confidently. It is true that the release of Leyla Zana and her colleagues is an important gesture, which seemingly demonstrates Turkey’s commitment to democracy. However, the picture is quite controversial. The EU has long been demanding the release of the imprisoned MPs, saying the affair cast a shadow over bilateral relationship and is making it harder for Turkey to become a member of the EU. One should not forget, either, that Gьnter Verheugen openly criticized Turkey  when in April a Turkish Court upheld the harsh sentence.

Over the past few years, successive Turkish governments have made numerous unilateral gestures towards the EU. First, they did not execute PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, despite widespread popular support for such an action. Then they abolished the death sentence altogether. Finally, they accepted the cultural rights of the Kurdish community, as a result of which Turkish state run television and radio began to broadcast programs in Kurdish.

All these measures are not simply for appearance’s sake, by the way. They can indeed be called historic steps that have been previously demanded in vain by Turkish reformers and Kurds for decades. Despite all this, “deep down” unsolved problems remain. The PKK, which has been carrying out an armed fight for Kurdish independence since 1984, recently revoked its voluntary ceasefire. While everybody is pondering the chances for Turkey’s EU membership, conditions of war rule in the province of Tunceli in the eastern part of the country. According to various reports, the Turkish Army deployed 10,000 soldiers and helicopters loaded with machine guns against the Kurdish rebels. There are also clashes in the Batman province, located about 1000 kilometers southeast of Ankara.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep  Erdogan and his government are dancing on a tight rope, because Brussels is constantly asking for different measures in exchange for Turkey’s long desired membership. If the Turkish government goes too far in implementing the reforms it may risk the foundations of state structure and sovereignty- that is, the very heritage left by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state.

Turkey with its two faces is the bearer of different traditions also from the point of view of diplomacy. Unconsidered or forced changes – unlike in the European countries – may lead to political cataclysm here. At the same time, it is obvious that Ankara is determined to carry out the necessary reforms and is rightly questioning the delaying attitude of  the EU’s decision-makers. The Turkish government is right when saying that among all aspiring countries Turkey is the one that faces the toughest criteria.

However, it goes both ways. In the case of Turkey’s accession the political, economic and cultural principles of the EU will have to be rewritten. It is a generally accepted view in Brussels that the integration of Muslim Turkey would be an even more difficult task than the integration of the newly joined post communist countries- a reason why the Western countries have thus far been cool to the idea of Turkey in the EU.