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Europeans' reticence and Obama's involvement with Turkey
by Thanos Kalamidas
2009-04-07 09:10:51 |
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With a few days difference the American president Barack Obama emphasized the necessity of Turkey to join the European Community and that naturally makes me wonder how he would feel and react if in their visit to the USA the French president or the German Chancellor would ask from the USA to make Mexico or Colombia the fifty-first state of the United States. Apart from that this involvement in something he has no right to do reminded the European allies why George W. Bush failed with the Europeans, he got involved and tried to manipulate Europe like Europe is a colony and not an equal partner.
The French President Nicolas Sarkozy saved the European dignity pointing exactly that, the expansion of the European Union to Turkey is a totally internal European issue and there are strong objections including the French one that should never undermine. Nicolas Sarkozy voiced what the majority of the Europeans have said in many ways including the painful failure of voting for a pan-European constitution and later as they called it the treaty. In both cases the people raised as main issue for the rejection the expansion to Turkey. The reasoning is deep and covers from historic to social reasons and a deeper true that everybody has to admit, Turkey doesn’t cover the main ground any country member of the EU does, as it is today is not a European country. Period.
I have argued about it before and nothing has changed my opinion in the sense that as the title identifies – European Union – there are European countries no members with every right to become full members including Russia that excuses the geographical at least ground to be a member. Turkey is a federation of states left over of the mighty Ottoman Empire under the same leadership hold often with terrorizing power and not much of democratic ways, definitely far away from what Europe calls democracy and definitely a long way to reach the common European standards as even the European court and the courts of human rights daily prove not to mention the occupation of part of a European member state.
So why this determination from the USA administrations that reaches the limits of inexcusable and often harassing involvement in internal affairs of other countries? The reasons are mainly geopolitical and economic with the economic reasons the most obvious. The Americans need an ally in the area and especially a Muslim ally since they have manage to alienate with any other possible ally in the middle east except Israel that more often damages their geopolitical plans than helps. As the events have prove the last century there is one and only way to get Turkey’s loyalty and that is money or better anything in exchange and that unfortunately for the Turkey’s people who constantly live in the misery of a trebling economy, increasing unemployment, the horror of the army that can take over any minute and a custody of extremists from the right wing to religious fanatics. And the last few years has become just too expensive!
That’s it, Turkey has become too expensive and the exchange for the cost is just too small and risky since as Turkey has shown the last two decades they can easily change alliances. But this is understandable, legitimate and accepted for a country that lives, survives and mainly wants to play a leading role in the area. In this geopolitical game is equally legitimate Turkey’s interest to become a full EU member, Morocco has expressed the same wish a few decades ago and of course Israel would love to be a full member and perhaps Japan, the problem is that none of them is a European country.
Nicolas Sarkozy is right, and don’t worry I am surprised myself finding that I agree in one thing with him; Turkey could make an excellent economic partner but this where it should stop, Turkey can never become a full EU member and part of the decision making, Europe cannot afford a member who first of all doesn’t fulfill by definition of the European Union, at least with the form Turkey is now and secondly cannot have a member who has an agenda often contradictional to Europe’s aims and Turkey as it is today has a lot of contradictional issues with Europe.
The only positive thing to Turkey is that this relationship will help the country to escape from the dark times the army has put the country too often and unfortunately continues offering with their active involvement and control over the political decisions and a radical social and legal change that will help the Turkish people.
Coming now to Barack Obama, his visit to Europe was definitely positive to smooth first of all the definitely shaken relationships because of the mistakes of the last administration and his announcements to terminate any nuclear weapons covers the wishes of all of us especially us European who often felt like becoming the battle field during the cold war. But his suggestions to the EU members in the Turkey’s issue caused some reticence that might have unexpected results in the future.
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