Word: turkishly
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...according to a report published Sept. 7 by a panel of European grandees. Chaired by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a mediator, the Independent Commission on Turkey says some E.U. leaders are mining popular fears over the specter of Turkish membership. "Attacks on the E.U.-Turkey process [have become] a proxy for popular concerns about immigration, worries about jobs, fears of Islam and a general dissatisfaction with the E.U.," the report says. "Negative statements by some European leaders ... and obstacles put in the way of the negotiations have...
...This hostility has not been missed by the Turkish. Support in Turkey for membership fell from over 70% in 2004 to 42% by the end of last year. The sense of being excluded has further demoralized Turkish reformers, the report says, leading to "a regrettable slowdown in the reform process" that is a condition of membership. This, in turn, feeds skeptics in European countries who point to the lack of reforms as proof that Turkey is unworthy of joining the E.U. It's a vicious circle that jeopardizes Turkish domestic reforms and hurts the E.U.'s own interests...
...Turkey itself has to take some blame for the impasse. Since the ruling Justice and Development Party came to power in 2003, it has been jostling with the army, raising fears of a military coup. Speaking in Brussels in January, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted the crisis had delayed E.U. accession talks. The report by the Independent Commission on Turkey says the country still needs to shed its "authoritarian legacies." (Read "Behind the Turkish Prime Minister's Outburst at Davos...
...four years of actual accession talks, Turkey has opened only 11 of 35 policy chapters that need to be negotiated, successfully closing just one, on science and research. This is partly due to the issue of Cyprus, still divided between Greek and Turkish sides: eight of the chapters are formally blocked because Turkey still refuses to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus...
...biggest obstacle remains public opinion. A poll last year revealed that only 31% of Europeans back Turkish membership and in the June European Parliament elections Turkey proved a popular punching bag for parties looking to gain votes, with candidates pledging to veto the country's membership. The current economic downturn is another factor, making the E.U. reluctant to take on another country struggling under recession. "The economic crisis has certainly made things worse in Europe," says Sevket Pamuk, professor of Turkish Studies at the London School of Economics. "For membership to occur, Turkey needs to change, but the current political...