Accession talks began in 2005. In 2020, however, the EU Commission concluded that they had “stalled”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the EU to resume “accession negotiations” on Tuesday. “We expect the EU to open the chapters for the accession negotiations and start negotiations on a customs union without engaging in cynical calculations,” said Erdoğan after a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Ankara.
Turkey’s chances of having a greater say on the international stage have increased thanks to Ankara’s mediation efforts in the Ukraine war. In recent years, there have been heated arguments between the EU and Ankara over the accession issue. Accession talks began in 2005. In 2020, however, the EU Commission concluded that they had “stalled”.
From the approach to the end
In the 1920s and 1930s, the founder of the state, Atatürk, directed the young republic toward Europe. “There are different cultures, but only one civilization: the European one,” Atatürk urged his compatriots. In 1963 the country applied for admission to the Community of Western European States for the first time, and since then the Turks have been waiting outside the door. Erdoğan’s reform phase in the first few years after he came to power in 2003 made it possible to start accession talks with the EU. But the Cyprus problem, the flagging reform drive in Ankara and, above all, the dislike of many EU states towards Turkey brought the process to a standstill.
At the latest, Erdoğan’s draconian action against his critics since the attempted coup in 2016 destroyed the prospects of an early reawakening of the EU accession process. Erdoğan later complained a lot about the Europeans who granted his opponents political asylum after the coup.
EU heads of state and government are meeting in Brussels on Wednesday for a two-day summit to discuss the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A special NATO summit will also take place in Brussels on Thursday. Erdogan met the representatives of four EU countries and NATO within nine days. Ankara has been trying to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv since the beginning of the war. And has not joined Western sanctions against Russia.
own interests
Turkish EU supporters are preparing for a long ice age. “My heart actually beats for Turkey’s EU accession,” says political scientist Ebru Turhan, who teaches at the Turkish-German University in Istanbul. “That would be the best option, but under the current conditions it looks very difficult.”
The focus on Europe has given way to a new self-image that defines Turkey as its own center of power. From now on, west and east no longer count – there is only Turkey, said Erdoğan’s son-in-law and finance minister, Berat Albayrak, at the end of August after the discovery of rich natural gas reserves off Turkey’s Black Sea coast. Erdoğan’s government sees Turkey as a regional power that also pursues its own interests where they collide with those of the EU. In March, Ankara shocked the EU by sending refugees to the land border with Greece.
In one area, however, Turkey still attaches great importance to the European Union: Six of the ten most important export partners of the Turkish economy are European countries. This is also important for Turkey to reduce its trade deficit. Last year, Turkey delivered goods worth almost 1.8 billion euros to Austria, which was 5.2 percent more than in the previous year and around 600 million euros more than imports from Austria.
60 percent to join
Politically, however, the Turkish view of Europe has become very sober. According to a survey, 60 percent of Turks are still sticking to their goal of joining the EU; among young voters, approval is particularly high at 66 percent (as expected). However, only 23 percent of respondents believe that their country will one day actually be a member of the EU. Turkey’s expectations of the EU therefore relate less to the distant dream of accession and more to concrete things such as the demand for visa-free travel.
Even without the prospect of accession, Turkish-European relations will remain exciting, says political scientist Turhan. “The topic will occupy a lot of academics in the next five to ten years. Because it will not be easy to find a model for the future of Turkey-EU relations.”
(red./APA/AFP)