1923, this country with a predominantly Muslim population has been a secular
democracy closely aligned with the West. Turkey was a founding member of the
United Nations, and a member of NATO (since 1952), the Council of Europe
(1949), the OECD (1961) and an associate member of the Western European Union
(1992). Ankara chose to begin co-operating closely with the then European
Economic Community in 1959, and Turkey's prospective membership in the EEC's
successor, the European Union, has been a source of much debate since.
Timeline:
- February 1952: Turkey becomes a full member of NATO .
- September 1959: Ankara applies for associate membership of the European
Economic Community - September 1963: The Ankara Agreement (an association agreement) is signed
to take Turkey to Customs Union and finally to full EEC membership. - November 1970: The Additional Protocol and the second financial protocol
signed in Brussels. - January 1973: The Additional Protocol enters into force. It sets out
comprehensively how the Customs Union would be established - July 1974: Turkey invades Cyprus.
- 1978-1979: The EC suggests that Turkey should apply for membership along
with Greece. Turkey declines. - Relations between Turkey and the Community come to a virtual freeze
following the military coup d'etat on 12 September 1980. - June 1980: The Association Council decides to decrease customs duties on
almost all agricultural products to "zero" by 1987. - September 1986: The Turkey-EEC Association Council meeting revives the
association process. - 14 April 1987: Turkey applies for full EEC membership.
- December 1989: The Commission endorses Turkey's eligibility for membership
but defers the assessment of its application. - March 1995: Turkey-EU Association Council finalises the agreement on the
Customs Union, which enters into force on 1 January 1996. - December 1997: At the Luxembourg Summit, EU leaders decline to grant
candidate status to Turkey. - December 1999: EU Helsinki Council decides on the candidate status of
Turkey. - March 2001: The EU Council of Ministers adopts EU-Turkey Accession
Partnership. - March 2001: The Turkish government adopts the National Programme of Turkey
for the adoption of EU laws. - September 2001: Turkish parliament adopts over 30 amendments to the
constitution in order to meet the Copenhagen political criteria for EU
membership. - August 2002: The Turkish Parliament passes sweeping reforms to meet the
EU's human rights criteria. - 13 December 2002: The Copenhagen European Council resolves that if the
European Council in December 2004, on the basis of a report and a
recommendation from the Commission, decides that Turkey fulfils the Copenhagen
political criteria, the EU would open accession negotiations with Turkey
"without delay". In the meantime, EU leaders have agreed to extend and deepen
co-operation on the EC-Turkey Customs Union and to provide Turkey with
increased pre-accession financial assistance. - May 2003: The EU Council of Ministers decides on the principles,
priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions of the Accession
Partnership with Turkey . - January 2004: Turkey signs protocol banning death penalty in all
circumstances, a move welcomed by the EU. - March 2004: Council of Europe recommends ending monitoring of Turkey .
- October 2004: Commission issues progress report on Turkey .
- December 2004: European Council is due to decide on whether to open
accession negotiations with Turkey.
Issues:
The arguments revolve around a series of issues, ranging from demographic
through geographic to political. One commonly raised point is that, if and
when it was to join the EU, Turkey would become the EU's most populated
member state. Turkey's current population is 71 million, and demographers
project it to increase to 80-85 million in the next 20 years. This compares
with the largest current EU member state Germany, which has 83 million people
today, but whose population is projected to decrease to around 80 million by
2020.
Another argument is rooted in the age-old debate on whether it is possible to
establish geographic borders for Europe, and whether Turkey 'fits' within
these borders. This is seen by many as a dispute that rests on philosophical
and intellectual prejudgements, especially since the Treaty of Rome is widely
accepted to aim for the construction of a union of European states based on
shared common values.
Perhaps the most sensitive of all arguments centre on the cultural and
religious differences. Since the EU identifies itself as a cultural and
religious mosaic that recognizes and respects diversity, the supporters of
Turkey's EU bid believe that, as long as both Turkey and the EU member states
maintain this common vision, cultural and religious differences should be
irrelevant.
The EU member states' concerns over Turkey's human rights record as
well as global and regional security-related issues have also been key factors
behind Turkey's prolonged application process.
The economic and political criteria for EU membership were determined at the
Copenhagen meeting of the European Council in 1993 and require that candidate
countries should have achieved “the stability of institutions guaranteeing
democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of
minorities.” On October 6 the European Commission will also issue a
recommendation to the next European Council, to be held on December 17 in
Brussels, whether or not Turkey has met the necessary human rights standards
and can proceed with its European Union candidacy – that is opening
negotiations for membership.
The future of the divided island of Cyprus has also been a major moot
point. Under a UN-sponsored agenda, the Greek and Turkish sides have been
working against the clock in the spring of 2004 to iron out a deal for the
island's reunification.
