By Halil Cihan Ergul

After a long history of political debate and struggle, Turkey seems to be advancing towards getting the European Union membership. According to the E.U. Commission report published Oct. 6, 2004, now Turkey has sufficiently met the political criteria to start accession talks.

This political attempt involves very significant qualities. First, Turkey has a Muslim majority and at the same time, regardless of many cultural differences, it has demonstrated a constant aspiration to become a part of the union. It has the second highest populous of any European country and once accepted, will play a major role in the Union, where decision power of the member states is determined based on the country populations. And in a mere geographical consideration, only a minor part of Turkey is in Europe. Nevertheless, its interaction with Europe as a whole dates back to centuries ago.

With these qualities, Turkey’s candidacy issue draws much attention in the European political circles and already triggered a hot discussion in the continent. If Turkey can achieve the membership, it will mark a successful example of westernization in its geography, where many other Middle Eastern countries are carefully watching this process. At this point, a more stable Turkey’s reflections can benefit both Europe and the Middle East and these efforts through democracy in a Muslim nation will best be strengthened by an E.U. membership. What is more, if countries such as Turkey can also found healthy relationships with other Muslim countries, they can definitely fulfill their role in being a cultural, economical and political bridge between West and East.

Yet, objections come from many different sources regarding Turkey’s possible membership to the European Union or to any other integration attempts within its geopolitical zone. For example, as Athanasios P. Dokos stated in the Greek newspaper To Vima, according to Turkey’s skeptics in Greece, Turkey will be the United States’ Troy horse in the European Union. In this scenario, the United States and United Kingdom support and encourages Turkey’s candidacy in order to distort political integrity within the European Union.

Nowadays, another integration attempt, which is mostly fueled by the United States, is about creating a union among Middle Eastern countries. The project arises from the need for reforms to redress shortcomings in the areas of freedom, democracy, information and women’s status and position in the countries in question. In addition to these reforms, the project also aims to counter the trends of international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Rationally thinking, Turkey should take a founding initiative in this movement in order to contribute and attain stability and prosperity in the region. But this possible attempt bounces on the strong Arab nationalist wall of the Middle East. According to Muhammad Nurettin, columnist in El-Halic, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, once again Turkey is referred as a Troy horse of the United States and it is highly recommended to stay skeptical to any integration effort with a Muslim democratic nation in the region.

A careful and sober look at Turkey will definitely tell that Turkey, a middle income country of Eastern Europe and the Middle East simply seeks European Union membership to bring a higher standard of life for its future generations in the 21ST century. Today, Turkey is one of the true three democratic (with some flaws) countries of Asia. These are Turkey, Japan and India. Japan became a democratic nation with the strong influence of the United States, as the United Kingdom played a major role in bringing democracy to India. In Turkey, however, intentions to move towards democracy and enhancing these democratic standards have arisen as a national notion. For this reason, this notion has a major position in the Republican values of the country.

In the global perspective, the future of middle income countries will play a major role in the future of capitalism and globalization. We can say that an economy is strong if its middle class is strong too. By the same token, creating middle income countries and connecting the already existing middle income countries to the institutions of globalization will strengthen the globalization itself. And doubtlessly, an enhanced communication will bring a more secure world, which is extremely important in this globalization process. Therefore, opportunities of tomorrow rather than fears of yesterday should definitely pave the way for a more integrated world. n