Annual update: Turkey’s road to the EU

The European Council took a historic decision on 17 December 2004 to open accession talks with Turkey on 3 October 2005. This article is an evaluation of the major developments in Turkey-EU relations between these two significant dates. The author focuses on the debate about Turkey in the EU and the debate about the EU in Turkey separately to understand the general trends for both parties. The referenda on the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands and federal elections in Germany are pointed out as main arenas where discussions about Turkey are being stepped up in Europe, while rising euroscepticism is placed at the center of the EU discussion in Turkey, writes Demir Murat Seyrek in the Turkish Policy Quarterly.

Last year was a historic year in Turkey-EU Relations and the decision of the European Council, on 17 December 2004, to open accession talks with Ankara on 3 October 2005 was the climax. Chris Morris, BBC Europe Correspondent, summed it up best by saying: “[t]here are still years of negotiations and plenty of pitfalls ahead, but if Turkey ever joins the European Union, people will look back on this summit as a decisive moment.” The process, which resulted in this decision after a 40-year struggle to be part of the club, was not smooth. Turkey witnessed many discussions, activities and campaigns by pro-Turkey and Turkeyskeptic groups especially in the last few months of 2004. Turkey’s EU membership turned out to be one of the most hotly-debated issues around Europe. It was, in fact, the beginning of a trend, which would lead to further discussions. 

Many in Europe and Turkey were expecting that the decision made at the European Council on the 17th of December (also referred to as 12/17) would put an end to discussions about Turkey’s full membership in the EU. However, statements from conservative party leaders in France, Germany and Austria, just one day after the decision, provided insight into the big political discussions on Turkey’s accession that lay ahead. Angela Merkel, Leader of the Christian Democrat Union-Germany, made it very clear that criteria for Turkey’s EU accession should go beyond the Copenhagen Criteria: “Turkey is not European enough in terms of culture and history to join the EU. Moreover, the European Union is full and there’s no room for Turkey.”

The EU began 2005 with a full agenda. The approval of the European Constitution was at the top of the list. Discussions on Turkey were expected to be downgraded during that time. However, Turkish accession turned out to be one of the central elements of the discussions related to the approval of the European Constitution, especially in France and the Netherlands. It is hard to understand the connection between the two issues, but for many politicians Turkey’s accession had already become one of the issues to be discussed for domestic political consumption. 

While Turkey was at the center of the debate in the EU, the EU also remained at the center of discussions in Turkey. However, these discussions did not portray the enthusiasm that was held prior to the December 2004 European Summit. Moreover, the Turkish government was not as active as before regarding the EU process. There was a clear slowdown for different reasons, which has been explained by many experts as “EU fatigue” in Turkey, after an intensive period of reform. However, this is a multi-dimensional issue which deserves more consideration.

To read the article in full, visit the ESI / Turkish Policy Quarterly website.