Nach Verhandlungsbeginn: die nächste Phase der EU-Türkei- Beziehungen

Dieser Aufsatz von 
Heather Grabbe

, der vom 
Centre for European Reform

veröffentlicht wurde, befasst sich mit den
Herausforderungen, denen sich die EU und die Türkei
stellen müssen, sobald die Beitrittsverhandlungen
aufgenommen werden. Unter anderem werden diejenigen
Aspekte des Beitrittsprozesses und des EU-Regelwerks
aufgezeigt, die auf die Ablehnung
verschiedener türkischer Interessengruppen
treffen werden. Abschließend kommt der Aufsatz
auf die Lektionen zu sprechen, die die Türkei von
den Erfahrungen der mittel- und osteuropäischen
Länder, die der EU im Mai 2004 beitraten, lernen
kann.     

Turkey has succeeded in completing the first
group of Herculean tasks set by the EU. Ten
years ago, it was hard to imagine that Turkey
would abolish the death penalty, permit
children to learn in Kurdish and place a
civilian in charge of national security. Less
than a decade ago, the military forced an
Islamist party out of government. Now the
successor to that party has made Turkey a more
liberal democracy. The Turkish political system
has proved itself capable of radical and very
positive change. 

But these reforms are just the beginning of
what Turkey will have to do before it can join
the EU. At their December 2004 summit, the 25
current member-states are likely to set a date
for Turkey to start accession talks. The
European Commission confirmed in October that
the Turkish government has enacted most of the
reforms demanded by the EU as a pre-condition
for starting negotiations. In particular, the
EU wanted to see improvements in the protection
of minorities and human rights. However, in
order to qualify for EU membership, Turkey will
now have to comply with the other exacting
criteria for accession, known as the
‘Copenhagen conditions’.

In 2005, the Commission will set out in
detail those other conditions for entry –
particularly those that concern economic reform
and the implementation of the EU’s
rule-book, known as the ‘acquis
communautaire’. EU accession requires an
enormous range of changes, from environmental
policy to financial services. Many of these
reforms will be difficult for Turkey to swallow
because they will entail significant costs, as
well as deep restructuring of the public
administration over a long period. 

Accession negotiations could take a decade
to complete. During that period, Turks will
learn much more about the EU and how it works.
They may well be disappointed to discover that
most of the acquis is about market regulation
and common EU policies; implementation of the
acquis does not automatically lead to West
European levels of prosperity. 

This essay is about the challenges that lie
ahead for the EU and Turkey once accession
negotiations begin. It considers which aspects
of the accession process and the EU’s
rule-book will be unpalatable to various
Turkish interest groups. The essay concludes
with the lessons which Turkey can learn from
the experience of the Central and East European
countries which joined the EU in May 2004.

To read the article in full, visit the Centre for European Reform website

.

Heather Grabbe

is deputy director of the Centre for European
Reform.