American comments about Turkey betray a lack of understanding of the European Union

Turkey's membership is sponsored by both the UK and US. That alone suggests it is not in Europe's best interest.

@Tim Hart

“Why Turkey takes the all or nothing approach to Europe makes zero sense.”

Turkey is only interested in EU’s millions of euros of aid that come together with membership status not with “special partnerships”. They are not interested in the moral values, the freedoms etc trumpeted by EU. They just want the money.
They perceive european legislation they have to adopt as humiliating encroachments that will be discarded once they are in EU.

Fahrettin Tahir: Posts like yours only illustrates that the European Union's hesitancy in letting Turkey join the European Union is not misplaced at all. With opinions like that on Europe why do you even want to join the EU???

Europe and Turkey have definitely had their rough patches but it takes two to tango my friend.

The problem with Turkey is that, just like Russia, is too big for EU. It is hard for EU to discipline small countries like Greece or Czechia, or Ireland. Imagine what it would be like to coerce a colossus the size of Turkey, 70 million, and a former empire. In a word, impossible.
As for the front seats of EU, they are already taken. EU is basically a sphere of influence for France, Germany, UK and Italy. There is simply no room for others.
Where would Turkey or Russia fit here?
Size is more important than the fact it’s muslim. Had Turkey been, let’s say, 10 million, it would have worked. Bosnia is EU material, Albania is EU material, and they will eventually be part of EU.

Total failure

In 1856 Turkey was admitted into the European Concert with the treaty of Paris. The Turkish expectation was that Turkey would be treated the way other European powers were treating each other.
60 years later the approach had clearly failed. Not only was the European territory of Turkey devastated and subjected to a chain of genocides which in sum killed 5 million European Moslems and deported a further 5 millions to reach the target of a Europe without Moslems but the Europeans also tried to erase what in the end survived as Turkey from the map.

The Christians of Europe were to racistic to accept Turks as their equals.

Around 100 years after the treaty of Paris Turkey was admitted into the NATO and promised membership of the European Union. 60 years on, in 2010 it is clear that the approach has again failed.

There is a Cyprus isuue because the Christians of Europe tried to erase Islam from yet another corner of Europe. The same happened in Bosnia and Karabagh in the 1990ies. There is a Kurdish issue because some European powers tried to use the PKK to break away a corner of Turkey. There is an Islamist government in Tukrey because some European powers deliberately destabilized the secularists to assure that Turkey does go away and not try to enter the EU.

A Turkish attempt to join the EU has been turned into a farce. The Turkish minority in Germany, most of whom have problems getting any jobs, must hear top German officials publicly stating that this is because the Turk has only enough brains to sell vegetables.

Again, the Christians of Europe were too racistic to accept the Turks as their equals.

It is next to impossible in the existing climate to convince the West European public to admit the Turks into the Union. The climate was intentionally created by propaganda. Unforgettable is the top German weekly magazine der Spiegel stating in an editorial in 1993, as a reaction to members of the Turkish minority being burned alive by Nazis, “there is no place in Prinz Eugens Europe for Turks”, Prince Eugen being a German general who had defeated the Turkish army in Vienna 300 years previously.

The World has changed a lot in 100 years. There are various non Western alliances possible for Turkey. The European Union is free to concentrate its energies on subsidising Greece and discussing Bulgaria.

And it is certainly nice of the North Europeans to treat the Maltese as their equals.

Better Russia than Turkey. Get Russia into the EU and then you have most recourse problems for Europe solved. Turkey then loosens every strategic advantage it has. Why waste all the energy and time to get turkey to thing as Europeans, better direct that energy at getting Russia in. Why doesn’t everyone see that religion plays probably the biggest part here? In Europe saying a Turk the first think that comes in mind is been a Muslim. Religion has shaped European and Turkish values, culture and way of thinking for hundreds and even thousands of years and always in opposing directions. For good or bad that’s the way it is. So Turkey should look elsewhere. In its recent history Turkey killed or forced out its Christian population based solely on religion. So why now Turkey does wants to join a Christian club?

The distance between Washington, DC and Honolulu is 4830 miles whereas the distance between Washington, DC and Ankara is 5420 miles. So there is much of a difference. My suggestion is Turkey is invited to become the 51st state of the Union.

Why is the "special partnership" viewed as not good enough or even as an insult? Turkey can become more westernized and move closer to Europe without having to become a member of the European Union. Why Turkey takes the all or nothing approach to Europe makes zero sense. These two regions have plenty to offer each other through the special partnership option and it seems like a mistake for the Turkish government to move away from Europe just because it cannot get its way with EU membership.

I think the problems with Turkey's membership bid for the EU are two fold.
1)European racism. I lived in Germany at age 10,16 and 21. The Germans are totally racist towards the Turks. They think of them as inferior and resent their very presence in their country. If you are not white you can never really be german in the eyes of the natives. I suspect this applies to the rest of the continent. It doesn't help that the other muslims that have come to Europe have behaved badly (not assimilating or achieving economic success.)
2)Turkish backwardness. Let's face it, Turkey is not like France or Germany. It limits freedom of speech and of religion. You go to jail if you criticize Ata Turk (give me a break). The country does not have a Western background or culture. The Europeans feel this and rightly resist diluting their own culture.
The solution is easy, lower all trade barriers everywhere and end all subsidies for all industries everywhere (believing in this last line is what will forever keep americans separate from their european counterparts!)

If Turkey was like Istanbul, Izmir, Antalia... the question would not exist, these cities have had mixed cultures since the antiquity.
Though, from what they were in the seventies, I didn't see that they become more westernised, in the contrary, veiled women are common now, whereas you could go into banks and stores of the era, and see no difference with our women.

the problem is the radicalisation of islamism there.

Justice is for large ethnic communities in Turkey and Cyprus to enjoy same level of human and community rights.

There are 15+ million Kurds in Turkey constitutuing 22+% of Turkey's population who live predominantly in SE Turkey for millennia, long before Mustafa came down on them with force & Turkey has been keeping them at bay for almost 90 years, refusing them even the most basic version of community and human rights, the same Turkey HYPOCRITICALLY "fights for" on Turkish speakers of Cyprus' behalf.

There are 90.000 Turkish speaking Cypriots, 10% of population living in the territory occupied by the Turkish fascistic machine, used to be 18% and living scattered all over the island for 300 years, with the majority Greeks who have called Cyprus home since the beginning of time.

Can the fascists, religious and military, over in Turkey acknowledge that they can't ask for superrights for a 10% Turkish speaking Cypriot minority & deny even the most basic COMMUNITY & HUMAN RIGHTS to their own 22+% ethnic Kurdish population?

Can the fascists, religious and military, over in Turkey realize that they can't have international law tailer-made to suit their undemocratic capricios?

Can you please just get the hell out? You have huge problems with your democracy and ethnic minority communities' rights at home to allow you to preach human or community rights abroad.

GET OUT OF CYPRUS! You certainly do not belong!

I'm no foreign policy expert, but my (entirely unqualified) prediction is that, to paraphrase Groucho Mark, Turkey won't show up for a party to which it was *not* invited. It is rapidly reaching "critical mass" as an economy, and it will probably go its own way. Just a guess...

To GlobalAffairs

While your idea looks good on paper it overlooks some glaring points.

The Yeltsin days of hoping for EU membership are long gone. Russia does not accept a vision of an international system where states (especially large powerful states as Russia considers itself to be) surrender their sovereignty or accept limitations to their independence through a web of institution (such as the EU) or the supposed agreed rules and norms of a legalistic international order. Russia will interact with the EU politically when their goals converge and compete and cooperate in the naked economic space (as Russia is, so far, free of WTO shackles and control)

For all the historical baggage between Christian and Muslim religions, Turkey remains by far a secular state and the Christianity of the EU should not be considered monolithic by any means... The true restrictions on EU accession remain Cyprus, freedoms of speech and expression, and poverty reduction.

Ignoring Turkey plays into US fears of the international system splintering from its current rule based norm driven legalism (which it very much represents and manages) to a system of relatively equal regional power blocs, a return to naked balance of power considerations.

Your analysis also omits the fact that Turkey plays a pivotal role in NATO and acts as a bridge to the Middle East as a secular Muslim state and an (albeit currently strained) ally to Israel... You simply cannot cut and run from Turkey without altering the power balances within the Middle East (negatively from a western perspective), assisting Iranian ambitions for regional hegemony, and ripping a hole in NATO's southern flank.

Another extremely well balanced, well written, well researched well thought article.
Congrats.
I sometimes disagree with Charlemagne, which is only too healthy, but his high quality professionalism is always an example. A good one, I mean.

Racism, intolerance and xenophobia are problematic in both Europe and the United States.

In the US, many Americans implicitly and otherwise condone some of the worst abuses committed by their government overseas - the support for the occupation of Palestinian territories, the illegal invasion of Iraq, the overthrow of governments overseas - Iran, Venezuela, Chile. And antipathy towards undocumented migrants is endemic.

In Europe, racism against legal and illegal immigrants is out of control, discrimination in all walks of life against minorities is well documented, and a shocking proportion of Europeans oppose Turkey's EU membership on narrow cultural/religious grounds.

So it is highly debatable if one side can adopt a holier than thou attitude towards the other.

The remark by Robert Gates that lack of EU accession is pushing Turkey east blissfully ignores these points:

1. Years of propaganda calling Turkey a bridge between East and West have finally taken hold and a more democratic Turkey with a strong economy and an ever increasingly vibrant civil society is now asserting itself as a regional player.

2. A strong and foreign policy independent Turkey provides for a better counterweight to Iranian claims to regional hegemony. Turkey has more Arab 'street cred' being an independent actor than a mere US client. Like many other states Turkey questions US actions and sanctions regarding Iran (especially) and to a lesser extent Palestine, and Turkey feels that as a Middle East power it should no longer simply toe the US line with which it disagrees.

3. Turkey asserting itself as an independent player may complicate US plans for the Middle East but at least Turkey and Israel are nominal allies (The Gaza incident notwithstanding)...and besides, how long do we have to wait for the US to make ANY headway in the region...perhaps its time for some new approaches?

At the end of the day the US does not only reject the claims of regional hegemony or spheres of influence from antagonistic opponents such as China or Russia but from allies as well whether it be the EU, Turkey, Israel, Brazil, Japan or Australia.

In balance of power international politics, the US expects its clients and allies alike to follow the US script and forego any independent trajectory which deviates from the US course.

This is to prevent even US allies who could claim to be regional power states from becoming entrenched which in turn would allow Russian and Chinese claims (especially) to similar status.

This also extends, for as long as possible, America's 'Unipolar Moment' which is fast disappearing. With a return to a multipolar international system, the US hopes to embed and entrench western values and norms in the system so as to influence the type of multipolar system that will evolve.

For the US a mulitpolar international system which is based on the rules, norms and values which it espouses is less threatening than a multipolar system in which each hegmonic power operates on internationally on mutually exclusive standards

Dragos27 (sounds Greek)

I agree, I think you are completely correct. I do not understand all the media showing Turkey as a victim here.

@ozatmk

“the expulsion of Turks and other moslem communities from the Balkans and North Causcusus.”

May I remind you that here in the Balkans, we had to put up with turkish occupation for hundreds of years? How many schools did you build in the Balkans in 500 years? How many hospitals, how many universities? None. Only took out the money and that’s all. But, to paraphrase another user, “Turkey’s free lunch in the Balkans is over.”

@sunshineyellow

“Turkey cannot possibly be more 'backward' than Romania or Bulgaria,” It can, check the statistics.
Did it ever cross your mind that exactly turkish occupation is the reason the Balkans are so backward?

It just shows how weak are both USA and EU.

Simply - both former powers have no argument to convince Turkey anymore. USA needs Turkey more than Turkey needs USA - as an intermediate stop for troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. EU blocked Turkey accession - and with it the only argument it had.

Russia is similarly weak, I expect China and India will step into the empty space in Western Asia.

Yes, really it was so easy!!

It seems that Economist commentator ‘’ again’’ give clues that how her mentality effected or manipulated by none-visionary EU leaders propagation, with the sentences below.

‘’Talk of immediate membership is nonsense: even Turkey’s friends know it will take at least ten years. Some areas are stalemated: the EU has frozen several chapters of the talks, and Turkey refuses to recognize Cyprus, an EU member state.’’

Yes, it was so easy .Turkey begun to negotiate with EU 60 years before. At that time if we compare amongst Turkey, Italy, Spain and Greece, we maybe identify the problem better with mathematics. Although European Anglo-Saxon rhetoricians is very well equipped for diversifying Turkeys’ road map. We may cause some of them may understand what was going on.

EU supported most of EU countries (Mediterranean countries considered as same latitude Turkey) by 100 billions' funding as an infra-structure as a grantee.(I am not mentioning latest Greece finance collapsing and funding.)
Now, lets look at ‘’ How much Turkey funded by EU for 60 years’’.
Zero-Null -0 is the answer.
So what are they expecting from Turkey.
-According to EU goods, finance, persons can circulate freely, but accept Turkish citizens by applying Schengen visa..
So let me ask simple questions for Anglo-Saxon rhetoricians;
- Do you really want to join with Muslim country which was ruled to most of the Europe for 400 years?
-What is the relation to recognize Cyprus while EU still applying embargo to Turkish citizens by obstructing communities unification!!

Yes, it was so easy,
Now, with it was so difficult with populist leaders (both in EU and Turkey) who’s having hidden agenda to pushing out Turkey from Europe.