Join the Club: The Necessity of Accepting Turkey into the European Union

by Darina Shtrakhman

East or West? Turkey has been debating this question as long as it has been a country, perhaps even since the Ottoman era a century earlier. After World War II, Turkey made a name for itself by maintaining a secular democracy in a predominantly Muslim country — an impressive straddling of Middle Eastern and Western values which has made it a strong American ally and a role model for unstable neighbors.

Over the past decade, Turkish aspirations to join the European Union have motivated it to pursue liberal reforms. Turkey has aggressively pursued EU accession since 2004 but has encountered many roadblocks along the way.  To obtain entry, an applicant must fulfill 35 distinct criteria, such as protecting human rights and workers’ free movement and unanimous acceptance from all 27 EU member states. Yet Turkey has only completed one chapter, and 18 chapters remain frozen. Leading the opposition is Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot population continues to have problems with its Turkish Cypriot neighbors and Turks themselves.

As this struggle continues, Turks have increased trade with neighbors like Syria and countries throughout North Africa. While America fussed over other Middle Eastern issues, Turkey became more than just a pliable Western ally: it became a regional powerhouse in its own right. Under the Justice and Development Party’s leadership, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu crafted and implemented Turkey’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy, which prioritizes interactions with every country in the region. Of course, being friendly with countries like Iran inevitably means angering the United States.

While Davutoglu maintains that EU accession is the country’s top foreign policy priority, Turkey truthfully no longer needs the European Union. Polling indicates that while many citizens would like to see Turkey join the Union for prestige purposes, they no longer consider it a requisite for their country’s political or economic success. In fact, Turkey can continue trading with the EU even without being a member and could arguably gain more from focusing eastward on powerful, oil-rich neighbors.

The prospect of the EU accession process continuing to drag on — or, worse yet, Turkey losing interest in accession completely — would have dire consequences, though, for the United States and its European allies. If Turkey begins to prioritize Iran, or even Russia or China, over the West, America will lose its democratic liaison in the region. Think tanks repeatedly criticize the Obama administration for simply backing Turkey’s EU ambitions rather than developing a coherent, US-Turkish foreign policy. If the EU negotiations crumble, will America even continue to have Turkey as a friend?

The turmoil in the Middle East has proven that reliable allies in the region are hard to come by. Though there will inevitably be conflict over issues like the Gaza flotilla incident and sanctions against Iran, it is to America’s benefit to maintain a close relationship with Turkey. Ankara’s soft power is crucial in negotiating with countries like Iran and Syria, and as Turkey’s economy blossoms into one of the world’s largest, American businesses will invest even more in commercial hubs like Istanbul.

The European Union similarly has much to gain from embracing Turkey. Ankara proved its economic strength by weathering the 2009 global downturn well, with The Economist nicknaming Turkey “the China of Europe” — a favorable indicator of continued growth. If Turkey joined the EU, that growth would benefit the Union, which has been struggling with economic stability for the past year. Furthermore, accepting Turkey would send a strong message to the world that Europe would rather work with Islam than against it. Turkey may have angered the West with some recent actions, but the EU must be willing to look beyond that and recognize that Turks brings diversity and the promise of new growth prospects. More than any other country, Turkey can bridge the divide between the West, the Middle East, and North Africa, making it vital for the Western coalition.

Yet if Brussels continues to rebuff Turkey’s ambitions, Ankara will quickly lose interest in cooperation. As several European foreign ministers recently opined in the New York Times, “The crucial question is not whether Turkey is turning its back on Europe, but rather if Europe is turning its back on the fundamental values and principles that have guided European integration over the last 50 years.”

The European Union contains countries with divergent, messy histories, but they have learned to coexist. Moreover, the 27 countries work as a team. Even when Germany is reluctant to bail out Greece, it does so in the interest of the Union if not because of its own immediate interest. Now, it is Europe’s turn to remember that a handful of critics like French President Nicholas Sarkozy do not speak for the entire Union. It is time to move past the stalemate on Turkey’s accession process. Ankara’s patience is not infinite, and if it shifts its focus entirely eastward, the Western countries will lose a key ally.