Which European Union?
Nicholas Sarkozy could not be clearer on the perspective of Turkish membership to the European Union.
In an interview with daily Le Monde, the French president said Turkey’s membership question could only be raised after the physical unity of the EU on the European continent is maintained.
He had already said a number of times that the EU is a European organization and most of the “great Turkish people” lived in Asia Minor; i.e. not Europe. But his words yesterday, mentioning Croatia and Serbia were more specific. What he actually means is when the whole of Balkans and - we do not know whether Ukraine and Belorussia counts within European family and if so perhaps Russia - joins the EU, then France could be bothered to discuss the issue.
From President Sarkzoy’s words we can assume that Balkan countries like Bosnia-Herzogovina, Albania, Macedonia and perhaps Kosovo and Monte Negro will join the EU to boost the EU’s political and economical power. There may be some problems though; there is a considerable Muslim population in Bosnia and Albania, if it is an obstacle to be counted as being part of the European family. And Greece and Greek Cyprus (the island is literally between Asia Minor and Africa by the way) could object membership of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo and God knows what will Serbia (once being a member) will say to memberships of Bosnia, Kosovo and Monte Negro.
What the French President is saying about Turkey’s EU membership reminds one of the Turkish saying “On the last Wednesday of the endless month;” something close to “When hell freezes over.” And when he pretends he is flattering Turkey by saying he was not sure whether Turkey would like to lose its important role as a bridge between East and West by choosing to join to one of the sides; he is simply sarcastic and almost mocking the Turkish official line, which goes “Perhaps we could chose not to join when the day comes.”
In the same interview Sarkozy admits the EU was now a two-speed alliance, after the agreement reached last weekend of the Germany-inspired financial order minus Britain, still urging London to revise its decision in order not to be forced out of the bloc’s single market.
But, who needs each other now? Does Britain need an EU which is getting heavily under German and French domination day-by-day with a lot of non-producing, debt-generating economies with weak governments looking at the mouths of Angela Merkel or Nicholas Sarkozy to give political decisions for their people at home? Or does the EU need Britain to keep its credibility? The answer comes from Sarkozy in the same interview: “We need Great Britain.”
Turkey needs Europe as a target to anchor with in order to speed up its democratic and economic levels. It is not true that Turkey can’t sustain without an EU target; that is what we’ve been doing for the last few hundred years. Perhaps the mistake was to try to attract the EU politicians by offering vast strategic services and expect them to value Turkey’s membership according to those, because what is prevailing in European politics nowadays is nothing but shortsightness.
