Turkey and the European Union
by Katlin Farrell ‘10
Staff Writer··································
In December of 1999, the nation of Turkey became an official candidate for membership in the European Union. This has caused quite a stir within the current member nations because of the question on what defines a European culture. During World War Two, and in the few years before that, Turkey was one of the few countries open to refugees fleeing the Nazis; however, property brought into the nation was taxed. So, not only did Turkey make a profit into allowing these refugees in, she changed her culture someone as is oft caused by large groups of immigrants. This divided Turkey in two when defining its culture; the urban western area is considered European, while the rural eastern area is Middle Eastern. Another concern about Turkey joining the E.U. is that there are little to no border restrictions when it comes to traveling between member nations; it is almost like traveling from state to state in the United States. Terrorist activity is already high in Europe. This, the large Muslim population, and the proximity to non-secular Islamic states with weak borders, has created an area of great concern.
For a while now, Turkey has been unofficially promised membership when she meets the criteria. However, because of the various concerns, there will be some stipulations attached. For example, many people are asking for the restriction of immigration until Turkey reaches a certain level of economic strength so the wealthier nations are not flooded with workers like they were when Poland joined. Others are also wary about Turkey’s economic strength affecting the value of the EURO, which means that they might also be delayed when trying to join the E.M.U. (European Monetary Union). Other causes of concern include Turkey’s rough relations with Greece and Cyprus, two current members of the E.U.
Ever since Greece gained her independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, there have been periods of mutual hostility between Greece and Turkey. These periods of hostility include four major wars: the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Balkan Wars of 1912/1913, the First World War, and the Greco-Turkish War that lasted from 1919 to 1922. However, while there have been some issues that are still problematic, Greece is supportive of Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea who has a split population: Greek and Turkish. This intensifies the tensions between the two ethnicities because of the proximity. It is further intensified by the fact that Turkey had invaded and occupied Cyprus in 1974, forcing many Greek citizens of Cyprus to become refugees, using the military coup initiated by Greece as a pretext, which supposedly gave them the ‘right of intervention.’ If one said that Cyprus was irkedabout the rough treatment delivered to them by Turkey, they would be sorely underestimating the situation.
In 1989, Turkey applied for membership, but the E.U. decided to put it on hold because of the national instability following a military coup. Ten years later, it was decided that Turkey is on equal footing with other membership candidates and allowed her to become a formal candidate. Officially, the earliest that Turkey can become a member is 2013; however, the accepted timeline is that it will take her at least fifteen years to meet the requirements.
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