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| Europe |
| Turkey's Bid to Raise Its Islamic Profile and Court Europe May Backfire |
| 2004-10-06 |
| As the European Council prepares to decide on Turkey's membership of the European Union, the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan is also trying to heighten his country's Islamic profile. It looks almost certain that EU heads of state, meeting on Dec.17 , will give the go-ahead for opening membership talks with Turkey. This has already been recommended by a special mission that the EU sent to Ankara last month. What was described as "the last hurdle" was removed in September when the Turkish Parliament approved a new civil code modelled on those in force in all EU member states. But, even if the EU leaders approve the start of formal membership talks with Turkey, the process could take up to 20 years to complete. Turkey would be asked to implement massive economic, trade, legal, social and cultural reforms in the context of a program known as "mise-a-niveau", which means bringing it up to the current EU levels. At every stage of this long and fraught process any of the EU member states could delay Turkish membership by raising objections about this or that aspect of the "mise-a-niveau" program. Although the strongest opposition to Turkish membership comes from Germany, Greece and France, it is not at all certain that those EU members, like Great Britain, that want Turkey to join, will be prepared to force a showdown on the subject. To make matters more complicated, France's new Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has dropped hints that Paris may propose that Turkey's membership be put to a referendum in all of the EU's 25 nations. With anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe at their highest level ever, and rising, such a referendum could only mean certain defeat for Turkey's European ambition. |
| Posted by:tipper |