EU Enlargement and Turkey

Koki Mochizuki

Zhang Linlu

Contents

Regional Relations

Economy

Politics

Human Rights

Regional Relations

• Geographic Position• Cyprus Problem

Geographic Position

(1) A transcontinental Eurasian country

(2) Asian Turkey: 97%

(3) European Turkey: 3%

Cyprus Problem

• Republic of Cyprus• The Republic of Cyprus

has de jure sovereignty over the land of Cyprus.

• It joined the European Union in 2004.

• de jure: (from Latin) according to the law

Cyprus Problem

• Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two parts:

The Republic of Cyprus

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

• Turkey has refused to acknowledge the Republic of Cyprus

• Turkish –controlled The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey.

• de facto: (from Latin) existing as a fact although it may not be legally accepted as existing

Economy

Economy

Turkish Economy

• Turkey has the 17th largest GDP (current US$) in 2012.

• The Turkish economy grew by 9.2% in 2010, 8.5% in 2011.

Economic integration with EU

• The EU’s share of Turkey’s total trade :41.7% in 2010

40.8% in 2011

The customs union between Turkey and the EU came into effect in 1996.

Economy

• EU 2012 Country Report on Turkey Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy

• Overall, Turkey’s level of preparedness is advanced.• There has been progress on economic and monetary

policy.• Alignment with the acquis remains incomplete.

Politics- Democracy- Rule of Law

Political Structure

• A parliamentary representative democracy

• The president has a largely ceremonial role

• Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Minister

Democracy

• Positive steps in working for a new Constitutionlack of consultation in the legislative process

• Progress in public administration in the legislative form• Ombudsman institution established

still no progress on administrative decentralization

• Kurdish Problem still prevails (significant increase in PKK terrorist attacks)

Rule of Law

• Judiciary• Progress through the third judicial reform package• Concerns…• Length of pre-trial detention• Independence, impartiality and efficiency of the system• Participation rate of women

• Law Enforcement• Downward trend in torture & ill-treatment• Overcrowding of prisons

• Fighting Corruption• Transparency of political financing• Lack of investigation on corruption cases

Human Rights Issues- Freedom to Expression- Freedom of Thought & Religion- Freedom of Association & Assembly- Women & Children’s Rights- Minority Rights

Freedom of Expression

• Some progress• Restrictions on the media to report on criminal

investigations were eased• Seizure of written work before publication was prohibited

• Still a increase in violation of freedom of expression

• Website bans

Freedom of Thought & Religion

• Secularism… Freedom of religion is generally respected

• Non-Muslim groups still face problems (property rights, access to justice, ability to obtain work, etc…)

Freedom of Association & Assembly

• Cases of violence and use excessive use of force towards demonstrations that had not received prior authorization

• The Constitutional right is sometimes interpreted in an overly-restrictive manner

Case Study: #OccupyGezi

• Started as a peaceful demonstration

• Use of disproportionate force

caused the conflict to escalate

Women & Children’s Rights

• Progress in legal terms• The Law on the Protection of Family and Prevention of

Violence against Women

Needs to be implemented consistently across the nation

• Participation by women in employment, politics & policy making

• Treatment of juveniles

Minority Rights

• Representatives of minority groups have been invited to the parliament to express their views on the Constitution

• Full protection on the culture and fundamental rights still do not meet European standards

Kurdish Problem

• Kurds… people of Iranian decent• Speaks a different language (Indo-European)• Approx. 16~25% of the population

• PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party)• Considered a terrorist group by the EU• Constant terrorist attacks

• Roboski Massacre (Uludere Killings)

Discussion Questions

1. Should Turkey be accepted by the EU?

2. What should Turkey focus on in order to be part of the EU?

Reference

• Picture 1. Accessed July 4th. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turkish_EU_accession_logo2.png• Picture 2. Accessed July 4th. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU_and_Turkey_Locator_Map.png• Picture 3. Accessed July 4th.

http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/03/27/turkey-warns-cyprus-against-leveraging-energy-assets/• Picture 4. Access July 4th.

http://www.nationalturk.com/en/turkey-ties-with-eu-can-be-suspended-if-cyprus-assumes-eu-presidency-13058

• Accession of Turkey to the European Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Turkey_to_the_European_Union

• EU Enlargement. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey/index_en.htm

• World Databank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?order=wbapi_data_value_2012+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc

• EU 2012 Country Report on Turkey. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2012/package/tr_rapport_2012_en.pdf

• 2012 Conclusion document on Turkey’s accession. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2012/package/tr_conclusions_2012_en.pdf