Accession negotiations between Turkey and the European Union
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The Accession of Turkey to the European Union were officially added to the night of 3 and 4 October of 2005. Six years earlier, on December 11, 1999, the country was granted the status of an official candidate for EU membership . The basis for this was the Ankara Agreement from 1963. A major problem in the negotiations is the non-recognition of the full national territory of the EU member Republic of Cyprus by Turkey.
A possible EU accession of Turkey has been in the political discussion since the founding of the European Economic Community (EEC). The country's accession remains controversial: although all member states of the European Union (EU) have agreed to the previous stages of the accession process, large sections of EU citizens and Turkish citizens are rejecting it.
On November 10, 2015, the EU Commission published a critical annual report. The EU Parliament spoke out on 24 November 2016 a "freezing" of the entry talks from. The recommendation is not binding on the EU Commission .
Turkey is being financially supported by the European Union with “ pre-accession aid”. According to a report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung , 4.13 billion euros flowed to Ankara between 2007 and 2013, and another 4.45 billion euros are planned between 2014 and 2020.
history
Prehistory (1949–1998)
Turkey became a member of the Council of Europe in 1949 and applied for membership in the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959. In 1963 an association agreement was concluded between Turkey and the EEC , the so-called Ankara Agreement . The treaty also offered Turkey membership for the first time. This “preparatory phase” should be followed at the end of a transitional phase by the customs union and thus a possible later Turkish membership in the then European Community (EC). In 1987 Turkey submitted the first application for membership in the customs union; this was rejected in 1989.
In 1992 Turkey joined the Western European Union (WEU) as an associate member. On January 1, 1996, a customs union was introduced for the first time between the European Union and a non-member of the EU. Since its accession to the European Customs Union , European business law has been in effect in Turkey, to which Ankara has to adapt its own trade relations with non-EU countries - “third countries”. Since Turkey has no say in Brussels - not even when it comes to economic and trade issues - it sees itself as severely disadvantaged in this agreement. "Turkey", as a study by the Berlin Foundation for Science and Politics (SWP) puts it , "gives up parts of its national sovereignty without at the same time really having any influence on the multinational decision-making process."
After the then EC had rejected Turkey's application for full membership in 1989, it was decided at the EU summit in Luxembourg in December 1997 that it was eligible for membership. However, when the summit decided to open accession negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus, Hungary , Poland , Estonia , the Czech Republic and Slovenia in 1998, the Turkish government felt offended. Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz angrily announced the break-off of talks with the EU.
Recognition as a candidate for membership (1999-2004)
While the European Council on December 11, 1999 also assured Romania , Slovakia , Latvia , Lithuania , Bulgaria and Malta that they would start accession talks in 2000, Turkey was the only country to be granted the status of “candidate country”. At the Copenhagen Summit in 2002, the EU decided in December 2004 to open accession negotiations as soon as Turkey fulfilled the political conditions of the Copenhagen criteria . As a "candidate country", Turkey took part in the European Convention in 2002/2003 , which drafted the Treaty on a Constitution for Europe .
An important reason for gaining candidate status was the start of extensive reforms in Turkish civil law . A civil law reform was carried out under Bülent Ecevit (1999–2002), which primarily improved the legal position of women. Turkey also strengthened human rights and freedoms (for example the right to assemble and demonstrate). The new government of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented a package of legislative changes when it took office in 2002. a. the abolition of the death penalty even in times of war, a ban on torture , the end of impunity for police officers, freedom of assembly and demonstration and measures against the oppression of the Kurdish minority as well as the free use of Kurdish , Kurdish lessons and Kurdish radio and television channels.
Although this legal basis was created, there are problems with its practical implementation. It is currently failing because of the state authorities and their employees. Although the regulatory authority for private broadcasting ( RTÜK ) granted three broadcasters in southeastern Turkey a license to broadcast in Kurdish on August 18, 2004, the state broadcaster TRT 3 is also allowed to broadcast programs in Arabic , Zazaisch , Kurmancî and other languages In the case of regional broadcasters, for example, Kurdish radio stations have not been able to continuously transmit without interference due to ongoing state interventions. Kurdish courses are only allowed for adults, but Kurdish classes are also made possible for school children at state schools. The public prosecutor's office in Ankara also called for the Eğitim Sen teachers' union to be banned because its statutes call for mother tongue lessons for minorities. The political, cultural and economic conditions in eastern Turkey therefore play a key role in Turkey's EU accession negotiations.
In September 2004, a group of experts from the European Union determined that there is no longer any state-tolerated systematic torture in Turkey, as only individual people or groups of people practice torture. The rule of law in Turkey will be strengthened with the adoption of a far-reaching reform of the criminal law, which is also due in September. As a result, on October 6th, the EU Commission recommended starting accession negotiations.
On December 17, 2004, the heads of state and government of the EU decided in Brussels that negotiations with Turkey on EU accession would begin on October 3, 2005. However, the prerequisites for this are the continuation of the reforms that have been started, a further improvement in the human rights situation and, in particular, the signing of an additional protocol to the Ankara Agreement on a customs union with the ten new EU member states (including the Republic of Cyprus) before the start of these negotiations.
Turkey's dealings with religious groups that are not officially recognized as minorities in Turkey within the meaning of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 (this is how the Greeks , Armenians and Jews are recognized) remain problematic . In addition to the Turkish Christians , the EU sees above all the Alevis as not having sufficient equality. In its “Recommendation on Turkey's Progress on the Road to Accession” of October 4, 2004, the European Commission expressly criticized the fact that the Alevis are still not recognized as a Muslim minority.
Start of accession negotiations (2005)
On September 29, 2005, the 25 ambassadors of the EU countries met in Brussels to set negotiating goals for the accession negotiations on October 3. Austria blocked an agreement and was the only member country to demand that Turkey be offered an alternative to full membership. On September 27, Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen reiterated the concerns expressed at previous EU summits about whether the EU could cope with Turkey's accession. Also EPP -Abgeordnete in the European Parliament argued for an alternative ( " privileged partnership on") to full membership of Turkey, although the EPP decided to grant observer status as a precursor for eventual membership in the EPP on 26 January 2005, the AKP.
On October 3, 2005, all 25 European foreign ministers were able to agree on a common framework text in Luxembourg. Austria renounced its demand to offer Turkey another model as an alternative to full membership, which Turkey had vehemently rejected. Ultimately, the sentence remained: “The common goal of the negotiations is membership”. As a compromise, at the end of the accession negotiations, after ten to fifteen years, not only will be examined whether Turkey meets the accession criteria, but also whether the European Union can cope with their acceptance economically and politically. The hurdles for admission are higher than ever before for a candidate. Since Turkey immediately agreed to these conditions, accession negotiations could formally begin on October 3rd, as planned. At the same time, to the surprise of many observers, negotiations with Croatia were resumed. The Austrian government had campaigned for this step, but at the same time it officially denied having linked this decision with the Turkey issue.
On November 9, 2005, Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen published the annual assessment. It attests that Turkey has made progress in the political and economic area. Above all, the situation of human rights, freedom of expression and the protection of minorities are criticized. As an example, the report criticizes the trial of Orhan Pamuk, which was later discontinued, because of his statements on the genocide of the Armenians .
“The change is progressing more slowly this year. The implementation of the reforms is not balanced. Great efforts are therefore necessary in the field of freedom of expression, women's rights, trade unions and the rights of non-Muslim religious communities. "
In March 2006, the opening of the second negotiating chapter on education and culture was delayed. Some EU states (including France and Germany) called for the chapter to be linked to questions of human rights and the Kurdish question. Other EU states, above all Great Britain and Finland, refused to politicize the subject, which is purely based on the harmonization of legal norms. The subject of human rights would only come on the agenda as planned in the chapter on Justice and Home Affairs, they argued.
The EU's 2006 Progress Report identified shortcomings in the elimination of torture, attempts to gain control of the army and opportunities for freedom of expression . Since Turkey refused to ratify the Ankara Protocol (an additional protocol to the Ankara Agreement of 1963) until the EU summit in December 2006 , the European Council decided to suspend eight negotiating chapters at the summit.
2007
On January 10, 2007, the then Turkish Foreign Minister and later President Abdullah Gül , the Minister of State for the EU Ali Babacan and all representatives of the relevant ministries met. It was decided to draw up its own reform plan, independent of the EU, to meet the accession criteria. According to this plan, the chapter on Justice and Fundamental Rights and the chapter on Justice, Freedom and Security should be completed by October 2009. All other chapters by 2013. In order to achieve this goal, laws are to be changed (for example the law on associations) and new laws passed.
On May 6, 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France. He campaigned with the promise to stop Turkey's accession process and replace it with negotiations for a different kind of privileged cooperation. He has political reservations about the opening of the chapter on economic and monetary policy planned for July 2007 . On June 24, 2007, the French government prevented the opening of the third chapter “Economic and monetary policy” of the accession negotiations. On August 27, 2007, Sarkozy revised his position on Turkey's accession to the EU and, subject to certain conditions, promised a continuation of the accession talks.
On July 22, 2007, the AKP was confirmed as the ruling party by Prime Minister Erdoğan in an early parliamentary election. Even after the election it will hold an absolute majority of the seats in parliament. In contrast to the opposition parties CHP and MHP , the AKP has campaigned for votes by continuing its EU course. The other parties had followed a more skeptical line.
After the parliamentary election and the election of Abdullah Gül as president, Prime Minister Erdoğan gave a keynote address on August 31, 2007, announcing that the pace of reform would be increased. The convergence course would also be advanced independently of the opening of new chapters. In addition, a zero-tolerance policy against torture should be pursued.
As a result of the terrorist attacks carried out by the underground organization PKK in Iraq in autumn 2007, the Turkish government's attention was drawn away from the reforms and towards the PKK. In particular, the improvements in the minority rights of the Kurds, which the EU called for, were not politically opportune because of the new violence. The 2007 progress report was correspondingly negative, in which above all the inadequate freedom of religion for Christians and inadequate freedom of expression were criticized. The democratic settlement of the legal dispute between the government and the opposition over the election of Abdullah Gül as Turkish president, against which the Turkish military had also expressed reservations, was praised.
2008
In early 2008, Prosecutor General Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya opened a ban on the AKP for allegedly attempting to undermine Turkey's fundamental secular order. This was preceded by a resolution by the Turkish parliament with the votes of the MHP and AKP to abolish the headscarf ban for female students. The process led to a renewed increase in the Turkish population's approval of the EU process. On July 30, 2008, the ban was rejected. Six of the eleven judges voted for a ban, which narrowly missed the required number of seven votes. The party is thus allowed to continue to govern, although in accordance with Art. 69 of the constitution, state support for the AKP is partially denied.
During the visit of the incumbent EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso to Turkey in April 2008, some reforms were passed that strengthen the fundamental rights of religious minorities in Turkey . The Turkish Presidium for Religious Affairs issued a fatwa stating that a move away from Islam to another religion was expressly permitted. The Turkish parliament decided positively on the return of the properties confiscated decades ago to the Jewish and Christian religious communities.
After a long reform pause, the government spokesman Cemil Çiçek presented the 131-point “Third National Program” (3rd Ulusal Program) . It includes a large number of adjustment reforms. The total of 131 legal changes and 342 ordinances are to be implemented within four years. Many standards of everyday life are to be adapted to the EU norms. These include points such as the fight against plagiarism, environmental protection and trade union rights. The institution of the ombudsman is to be set up. A constitutional amendment is sought for the party law and a change in party funding. When these changes are implemented, there should be greater transparency and party control, as well as more rights for party members.
2009 to 2013
In January 2009, Egemen Bağış was appointed the first Turkish Minister of State for the European Union , and in July 2011 his position in the Erdoğan III cabinet was upgraded to Minister for Europe. Until the end of 2013 he led the accession negotiations; then in a cabinet reshuffle because of a corruption scandal, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu became European Minister .
On February 4, 2010, Erdoğan's government repealed the Emasya Protocol , which had allowed the military to take power in individual provinces of Turkey without having to be authorized by the district councilors or governors. Human rights activists like the author and commentator Ali Bayramoğlu demanded that the blacklists drawn up by the army of “traitors to the fatherland”, “separatists” and “religious radicals” be completely erased. By restricting the power of the military, the Turkish government also complied with a request from the EU. On September 12, 2010, 57.93% of the voters approved a constitutional referendum . Constitutional amendments should enable further reform steps.
The Council of Wise Men on the Future of Europe , which was set up by Sarkozy and Merkel in 2007 to define the borders of Europe, wrote in its report of May 8, 2010 that these borders are not determined by geography and religion, but rather its values. They recommended keeping a perspective for Turkey's accession.
The Cyprus conflict remained unsolved.
In 2010 Istanbul was the European Capital of Culture .
In March 2010, during a state visit to Ankara, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out against Turkey's accession to the EU and instead pleaded for a “privileged partnership”. When Turkish President Abdullah Gül visited Germany in September 2011, Merkel reiterated her position with the words: “We do not want Turkey to become a full member. But we don't want to lose Turkey as an important country. "
The parliamentary elections on June 12, 2011 resulted in 49.8% for the AKP, 26.0% for the CHP and 13% for the MHP; all other parties failed because of the 10% threshold ; From July 6, 2011 to August 28, 2014, the Erdoğan III cabinet ruled .
In July 2011 Prime Minister Erdogan announced that he would suspend negotiations with the EU during the upcoming EU Council Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus in the second half of 2012. CSU General Secretary Alexander Dobrindt saw this as an affront and called for the negotiations to be broken off.
The return of the confiscated real estate was a requirement of the EU in Turkey's accession negotiations with the European Union. Erdoğan decided in August 2011 to return confiscated real estate and sacred buildings to the Christian minorities in Turkey , which the Patriarch of Constantinople , Bartholomew I, and representatives of the European Union welcomed.
Dirk Niebel (FDP), Development Minister in the Merkel II cabinet , described in September 2011 "Turkey [as] neither capable of joining nor the EU at the moment" and suggested Ankara's voluntary renunciation of EU membership. The size of Turkey would overwhelm the EU.
On October 10, 2012, the EU published a 94-page report entitled 'Turkey 2012 Progress report'. He criticized numerous conditions and developments in Turkey in clear terms.
In March 2013 there was a family law conflict between the Dutch government ( Cabinet Rutte II ) and the Erdoğan government in dealing with a rainbow family in the Netherlands. In response to the case, the liberal MEP Hans van Baalen , the chairman of the Liberal International , called for an end to the EU accession negotiations with Turkey. He wanted to submit a corresponding application in Strasbourg.
Since May 2013, the violent crackdown by the Turkish police and "black state militia" against the protests in Turkey in 2013 triggered international criticism. The governments of the Netherlands , Austria ( Faymann I ) and Germany refused to open a new negotiating chapter in June 2013.
In June 2013, the chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group , Volker Kauder , threatened Turkey with suspending EU accession negotiations. He warned Turkey against using the Turkish army against demonstrators; such an approach would take Turkey “light years away from Europe”. Kauder said: "We should support Turkey in becoming a modern country where human rights apply."
2015 and 2016
Triggered by the refugee crisis in Europe , there was a certain rapprochement between the EU and Turkey. At a special summit at the end of November 2015, an agreement was reached on the opening of Chapter 17 on economic and monetary policy as part of the cooperation in refugee policy. The agreement was implemented on December 14, 2015. Far-reaching agreements on immigration control were concluded at the beginning of 2016. Migrants from third countries who entered the EU illegally via Turkey have been able to be returned since March 18th. In return, Turkey demanded the opening of five of the eight chapters blocked so far, including the two chapters “Justice and Fundamental Rights” (Chapter 23) and “Justice, Freedom and Security” (Chapter 24). Chapter 33 on budgetary policy has now been opened. On June 30, 2016, the chapter “Financial and budgetary provisions” was opened. The 25th chapter on “Science and Research” was previously “provisionally closed”.
A solution was also emerging in the Cyprus conflict, which is burdening the accession negotiations. The President of the Turkish Cypriots Mustafa Akıncı, elected in April 2015, and the Head of State of the Greek Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis , advocate the reunification of Cyprus (as of January 2016).
In the face of the reprisals that followed the attempted coup in Turkey , 479 members of the European Parliament voted to freeze the accession negotiations on November 24, 2016, 37 voted against and 107 abstained. The resolution is a recommendation; Formally, the negotiations can only be suspended by a resolution of the member states of the EU. However, only the representative of Austria shared the opinion of the EU Parliament at the meeting of foreign ministers on December 13, 2016, while the foreign ministers of the other member states wanted the accession talks with Turkey to continue. According to observers, the representative of Germany feared angering the Turkish leadership and endangering the refugee agreement , and the United Kingdom wanted to secure Turkey's NATO partnership. All that came out was a statement that under the current circumstances opening new chapters of the negotiations was not considered.
2017
In the wake of the result of the constitutional referendum in Turkey on April 16, 2017, several parties have called for the talks to be broken off. The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Asselborn , Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn expressed their criticism, while Sigmar Gabriel, representing Germany, praised Turkey's role as a NATO partner and announced that the German government was strictly against the talks with Turkey to end. In a subsequent declaration on April 28, the EU foreign ministers then voted not to stop Turkey's accession process to the European Union. It was announced that the result of the Turkish referendum would be respected and that the accession process would continue.
On May 10, 2017, the Turkish European Minister Ömer Çelik visited Brussels. Celik spoke to the EU foreign affairs representative Federica Mogherini about Turkey's accession to the EU and, in connection with the accession negotiations, called for the opening of chapters 23 and 24, the chapters of justice, fundamental rights and freedom.
On July 6, 2017, the EU Parliament spoke out in favor of suspending the talks if Turkey were to implement the constitutional amendments adopted in the April referendum. The decision of the parliament is not binding for the commission.
After the arrest of the human rights activist Peter Steudtner , the German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced a new direction in Turkey's policy. Investment loans and EU pre-accession aid should be reconsidered. His Austrian counterpart Kurz announced at the end of July 2017 that he would “continue to campaign for the termination of the EU accession negotiations”. However, both arms exports to Turkey and the Hermes guarantees continued.
The option to join was assessed as no longer realistic in summer 2017. An analyst at the Al Sharq Forum think tank suspected that Turkey wanted to maintain the option of accession and talks with the EU because the prospect of accession could reassure potential foreign investors.
In the TV duel on September 3, before the 2017 federal election, German Chancellor Angela Merkel evaded the question of continuing the negotiations, while the opposing candidate Martin Schulz spoke out against it. A few days later, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Finland and Hungary appeared to advocate the continuation of the talks at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern about various human rights violations, but praised Turkey as a "great country" of great strategic importance for all EU countries. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov also publicly announced on October 19, 2017 that he would vote against freezing or ending the accession talks. Borissov feared that Turkey could otherwise terminate the 2016 refugee agreement or leave NATO and become the EU's military opponent. Borissov also announced that he would no longer have the subject of "breaking off the negotiations" discussed in the Council from January 2018 after Bulgaria took over the rotating presidency.
2018
Turkish troops embarked on a military offensive on Kurdish areas around the Syrian Afrin in January 2018, and numerous people were still detained after the attempted coup in Turkey. However, the Turkish EU Minister Ömer Çelik insisted on full membership of his country and rejected proposals by French President Emmanuel Macron for a privileged partnership . Instead, German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to campaign for a summit meeting between the EU Commission and Turkey. At the meeting, which is to take place on March 26th in Varna , Bulgaria , Turkey announced its intention to enforce visa-free access to the EU for its citizens. Turkey said it had met the EU's 72 requirements for visa-free access. On February 6, 2018, during a debate on the Turkish attack on Syria, MEP Kati Piri , who is responsible for the accession talks, continued to refer to Turkey as an “accession candidate”.
At the EU-Turkey summit in Varna in March 2018, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed calls for a possible termination of the accession negotiations by Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as a “simple” and “superficial” idea. In this context, Turkish President Erdogan emphasized that Turkey is still striving for full membership in the EU.
In April 2018, the EU Commission gave Turkey its worst report to date in its new report on readiness for membership. She attested that Turkey had taken serious setbacks in terms of the rule of law, freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary. "Turkey has moved away from the EU in great strides," said the new country report. "Under the current circumstances, there is no thought of opening new chapters [in the accession negotiations]," the EU Commission said in the report. Above all, Turkey must reverse the “negative trend” in the rule of law and fundamental rights. To do this, the first thing to do is to begin lifting the state of emergency. The EU Commission called for the weakening of an effective separation of powers in the political system to be tackled. To this end, Turkey should work more closely with the Council of Europe. The EU Commission thus stuck to its critical assessment, in 2014 it first urged greater independence for the Turkish judiciary. Praise was given to the Turkish economy, which has been described as well advanced and [a] functioning market economy. In addition, Turkey has made "outstanding efforts" to care for more than four million refugees. Turkey is not threatened with serious consequences.
negotiations
Following the decision of the European Council to start negotiations, the mandate was formally transferred to the European Commission, which conducts the negotiations. In the coming years, EU officials will travel regularly to Turkey to review progress in aligning political, economic and legal standards with EU regulations. Turkey must adopt the entire legal acquis of the EU in the next few years. The set of rules comprises 35 chapters. This includes all legal acts ( European law ) such as treaties of the European Union, regulations and directives ( see also: Acquis communautaire ).
The results of this monitoring flow into a report on the status of reforms, which the Commission publishes every autumn. The Commission finally determines whether and when the 35 or so accession chapters have been closed. After hearing the Commission and after the approval of the European Parliament, the Council of EU Governments declares the accession negotiations to be concluded and sets a date for formal accession.
As an "emergency brake", the Brussels summit resolution contains an exit clause: if a third of the EU member states demand it or if developments in Turkey stall with the reforms demanded by the EU in the areas of human rights , protection of minorities and freedom of expression, negotiations can be suspended become.
The second hurdle is the ratification of the accession treaty in all EU member states, by parliamentary decision or referendum: If it fails in just one country, accession does not take place. At the insistence of Austria in the framework text of the accession negotiations on October 3, 2005, the third hurdle was stipulated that the economic and political absorption capacity of the European Union at the end of the negotiations also played a role.
| chapter | Screening | opened | completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Free movement of goods | February 24, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 2. Free movement of workers | September 11, 2006 | - | - |
| 3. Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services | December 20, 2005 | suspended | - |
| 4. Free movement of capital | December 22, 2005 | December 19, 2008 | - |
| 5. Public procurement law | November 28, 2005 | - | - |
| 6. Company law | July 20, 2006 | June 17, 2008 | - |
| 7. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights | March 3, 2006 | June 17, 2008 | - |
| 8. Competition Law | December 2, 2005 | - | - |
| 9. Financial Services | May 3, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 10. Information society and media | July 14, 2006 | December 19, 2008 | - |
| 11. Agriculture and Rural Development | January 26, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 12. Food safety , veterinary policy and phytosanitary | April 28, 2006 | June 30, 2010 | - |
| 13. Fisheries | March 31, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 14. Transport policy | September 28, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 15. Energy | June 16, 2006 | - | - |
| 16. Tax Policy | July 12, 2006 | June 30, 2009 | - |
| 17. Economic and monetary policy | March 23, 2006 | December 14, 2015 | - |
| 18. Statistics | July 18, 2006 | June 26, 2007 | - |
| 19. Social policy and employment 1 | March 22, 2006 | - | - |
| 20. Enterprise and industrial policy | May 5, 2006 | March 29, 2007 | - |
| 21. Trans-European transport network | September 29, 2006 | December 19, 2007 | - |
| 22. Regional policy and coordination of structural policy instruments | October 10, 2006 | 4th November 2013 | - |
| 23. Justice and fundamental rights | October 13, 2006 | - | - |
| 24. Justice, Freedom and Security | February 15, 2006 | - | - |
| 25. Science and Research | November 14, 2005 | June 12, 2006 | June 12, 2006 |
| 26. Education and culture | November 16, 2005 | - | - |
| 27. Environment | June 2, 2006 | December 21, 2009 | - |
| 28. Consumer and health protection | July 11, 2006 | December 19, 2007 | - |
| 29. Customs Union | March 14, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 30. External Relations | September 13, 2006 | suspended | - |
| 31. Foreign, security and defense policy | October 6, 2006 | - | - |
| 32. Financial control | June 30, 2006 | June 26, 2007 | - |
| 33. Financial and budgetary provisions | October 4, 2006 | June 30, 2016 | - |
| 34. Institutions | - | not applicable | - |
| 35. Other questions | - | not applicable | - |
| all in all | 33 | 18th | 1 |
| pending | 0 | 15th | 32 |
Negotiation progress:
Positions of the governments and parties
In addition to the proponents, there are also governments that reject Turkish accession to the EU (in particular Austria, the Netherlands and France ).
Germany
In Germany, the question of a possible accession is also considered domestically, since in the years of the economic miracle after 1960 many guest workers came to the country from Turkey and became permanent residents there with their families and descendants. Between 1960 and 2000 the number of Turks in Germany rose from just under 7,000 to over two million.
In Germany, the CDU and the CSU in particular take the view that Turkey should not join the EU, but should instead adopt the status of a so-called “privileged partnership”. The AfD party also rejects Turkey's accession to the EU.
SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen are in favor of at least serious negotiations with the possible aim of accession. Even the Left is for accession.
The position of the FDP on Turkey's accession is not uniform. In an interview with ZDF, however, the then FDP chairman Guido Westerwelle emphasized on April 5, 2009 that Turkey was “unable to join” today and the EU “not capable of receiving”. The discussion about EU membership would only be in ten years. In April 2014, the FDP MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff called for the end of accession negotiations with Turkey.
Should there be a vote on Turkey's accession, the governing parties will not necessarily vote according to their own party program, but according to the coalition agreement . The 2005 grand coalition treaty envisaged continuation of the negotiations with an open outcome. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier commented on the accession negotiations on August 2, 2016 in an interview with the Rheinische Post . Steinmeier announced that the introduction of the death penalty would result in the suspension of accession negotiations. This would not be compatible with European values.
Austria
Austria's Federal Chancellor Christian Kern spoke out in the ORF news broadcast ZIB 2 on August 3, 2016 in favor of breaking off the accession talks. Turkey's accession to the EU is “just a diplomatic fiction”. He wanted to put the possibility of a cancellation at the EU summit on September 16 on the agenda and said: "We know that Turkey's democratic standards are nowhere near enough to justify accession." Turkey also lags in economic terms far behind the European average. Kern continued: "I see Turkey's accession for years, if not decades, to be an impossibility." The day after, after Kern's statement provoked reactions in the EU Commission and Germany as well as sharp rejection from the Turkish Foreign Minister , Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz also spoke up : Mitterlehner stated that this was a common line of government, Kurz rejected the negative reactions. On the criticism of the EU Commission, Kern told the newspaper Österreich at the end of August 2016 : "When you sit in the Commission building in Brussels, you naturally have a different view of things than when you talk to the people concerned." He said: "When you, as Juncker does, promises the Turks, we will negotiate with you, but at the same time says that Turkey will not join anyway, that is not an acceptable position vis-à-vis Turks or Europeans. "
United States
The United States of America has supported Turkey's accession to the EU since the mid-1980s, i.e. since the second half of the Reagan administration , and later used its influence to actively promote it. For example, shortly before the official application for membership in 1987, Turkey requested US support. In the 1990s, under the Clinton administration , the US and Israel began lobbying for Turkey's accession. This policy was continued and President Obama described Turkey as part of Europe in a speech in the Turkish parliament on April 6, 2009. With the weakening of the European Union in the wake of the financial crisis since 2008 and the good economic growth of Turkey during this time, Turkish politics began to appear more independently under Erdogan and finally fell out with Israel in 2010 after the Ship-to-Gaza incident , so that one lost Israeli support in influencing US politics. The US commitment to Turkey joining the EU then declined.
Alternative proposals to join
Beyond full membership of Turkey, alternative proposals were put up for discussion from various sides. The most prominent example is the “privileged partnership” brought into play by the German CDU / CSU in 2004, which is supported by the Austrian ÖVP , among others . A “privileged partnership” is not envisaged under European law. Otherwise Turkey should have applied for an association under Article 310 of the EC Treaty .
The then French President Sarkozy proposed in the summer of 2007 that the “Mediterranean Union” he was planning should be seen as an alternative to Turkey joining the EU. His plans have meanwhile been reduced to a “ Union for the Mediterranean ”, which will continue the Euro-Mediterranean partnership initiated in 1995, and Turkey has promised that this establishment would not affect the accession negotiations with the EU.
Opinion of the population
European Union
According to a special Eurobarometer survey between March and May 2006, 40 percent of EU citizens were in favor of accession as soon as Turkey met all the conditions imposed by the EU, 48 percent were against it. Compared to the autumn survey of 2005, the proportion of supporters rose by eight percent, and the proportion of opponents fell by seven percent.
Within the "old" EU countries, there was an absolute majority in Sweden , the Netherlands and Denmark and a relative majority in Spain , Ireland and Portugal . According to the Eurobarometer report, Austrians were the most skeptical with 81 percent of opponents, followed by Germans and Luxembourgers with 69 percent. In France, Greece , Finland and Belgium there was also an absolute majority and in Italy a relative majority against accession.
"The Turkish government has taken note of the fact that the rejection of the Turkish EU accession, which the AKP government is currently striving for, is highest in the member states where the number of Turks or their integration - for whatever reasons - is in need of improvement. "
| Turkey's accession to the EU is to be supported | FR | IT | DE | SP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ... because Turkey has already made great efforts in the modernization process to join the EU. | 39 | 27 | 24 | 30th | 26th |
| ... because Turkey is geographically part of Europe. | 29 | 33 | 31 | 26th | 38 |
| ... because an accession of Turkey would further support the importance of Europe. | 25th | 24 | 18th | 18th | 18th |
| ... because the financial burden would quickly be reduced through increased growth. | 19th | 16 | 13 | 22nd | 23 |
| ... because many Turks have to live in their country with the same differences as other EU countries. | 22nd | 8th | 14th | 35 | 15th |
| ... because from a cultural perspective Turkey belongs to the EU. | 17th | 23 | 12 | 17th | 14th |
| ... because Europe has long been committed to Turkey joining the EU. | 18th | 14th | 10 | 22nd | 11 |
| ... because if they refused to join the Islamists would gain in importance in Turkey. | 25th | 9 | 15th | 15th | 11 |
| Different reasons | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| No reason | - | 45 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| Turkey's accession to the EU is to be rejected | FR | IT | DE | SP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ... because in Turkey human rights are not sufficiently respected. | 39 | 32 | 28 | 43 | 32 |
| ... because there are too many religious and cultural differences. | 34 | 44 | 29 | 43 | 28 |
| ... because women in Turkey do not have the same rights as women in other EU countries. | 25th | 15th | 17th | 31 | 31 |
| ... because Turkey does not belong to Europe. | 25th | 11 | 18th | 19th | 10 |
| ... because then more immigrants flow to other EU countries. | 21st | 20th | 17th | 16 | 18th |
| ... because accession would increase the crime rate (drugs, prostitution, human trafficking ) in Europe and attract terrorists. | 12 | 15th | 10 | 14th | 21st |
| ... because the standard of living and economic growth in Turkey has just reached the lower minimum limit of the other EU countries. | 9 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 16 |
| ... because there are already too many countries in the European Union. | 14th | 6th | 16 | 8th | 6th |
| ... because in the course of joining many companies would move to Turkey because of the low production costs. | 17th | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Different reasons | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| No reason | - | 37 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
Turkey
According to a survey by the İstanbul Ekonomi Araştırma institute , 64.3% of Turks were in favor of joining the EU in May 2020, which is a 16% increase in the number of supporters compared to the same survey from November 2017.
literature
- Kubilay Yado Arin: The AKP's Foreign Policy, Turkey's Reorientation from the West to the East? Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin, Berlin 2013. ISBN 978-3-86573-719-9 .
- Federal Agency for Civic Education (Ed.): Turkey. Information on political education (issue 277). Franzis, Munich 2002.
- Federal Agency for Civic Education (Ed.): Turkey. Information on political education (issue 313). Bonn 2011. PDF; 5129 kB
- Jürgen Gerhards and Silke Hans: Turkey undesirable? An investigation of the attitudes of citizens in the 27 member states of the EU to the accession of Turkey , in: Berlin Studies on Sociology of Europe , No. 18, March 2009 ( PDF; 440 kB )
- Claus Leggewie (ed.): Turkey and Europe. The positions. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-518-12354-8 .
- Claudia Neusüß, Anna Holz: The EU equality standards. Reform engine for national women's and gender policy in the enlarged European Union? September 2006 ( PDF; 365 kB ; on Turkey p. 20 ff.)
- Bassam Tibi : With the headscarf to Europe? Turkey on the way to the European Union. Scientific Book Society, 2006, ISBN 3-534-18386-X .
- Hans-Peter Raddatz : The Turkish Danger? Risks and opportunities. Herbig Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-7766-2392-6 .
See also
Web links
- Website of the General Secretariat of the Republic of Turkey for EU Affairs (English)
- Turkey in Europe: More than a promise? , Report of the Independent Commission on Turkey headed by Martti Ahtisaari (rapporteur Albert Rohan ), 2004 (PDF; 274 kB)
- Working document of the Commission services: Turkey Progress Report 2007 , November 6, 2007 - Annual report of the EU Commission on Turkey's progress in preparing for EU membership (PDF; 445 kB)
- Is Turkey ready to join the EU? Questions and answers on Turkey's accession to the EU ( memento of September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on the Federal Press Office's website, November 8, 2005
- Interview with Egemen Bağış: “We see Europe as a community of values.” Qantara.de, December 2010
Dossiers:
- Article dossier "Turkey joining the EU?" of the weekly magazine " Spiegel "
- Article dossier "Turkey joining the EU" in the daily newspaper " Die Welt "
- Europe and Turkey , focus on euro | topics (offered by the Federal Agency for Civic Education)
- Turkey and EU , dossier on Qantara.de
- ZEI EU-Turkey-Monitor , regular newsletter on the subject of the Center for European Integration Research
- Turkey and the EU , dossier of the Federal Agency for Political Education
- Arno Tausch (2003) “Turkey, the Islamic world and the future of Europe. A Lesson on US Foreign Policy in the 21st Century "Online at University of Connecticut, Ideas / Repec
- The unknown Turk and a future referendum - Anatomy of an Austrian debate (ESI; PDF file; 398 kB)
Plea for joining:
- Don't be afraid of the Turks! - Günter Seufert (former head of the institute of the German Oriental Society in Istanbul) inDie Zeit , No. 39/2002
- Turkey fits in - Michael Thumann in the time , February 19, 2004
- Turkey: Europe's last chance - Christian Rickens in Manager Magazin , issue 12/2006
Plea against joining:
- The Turkish problem - Hans-Ulrich Wehler in der Zeit , No. 38/2002
- Ten reasons against Turkey joining the EU - Jacques Schuster and Roger Köppel in the world , September 24, 2004
- No megalomania , please - Helmut Schmidt at the time , November 25, 2004
- Ankara Shows Its Hand - Christopher Hitchens in slate , April 20, 2009
Individual evidence
- ^ "Ankara sends its greatest political talent" , Berliner Zeitung , October 5, 2005.
- ↑ http://ec.europa.eu (PDF, 92 pages)
- ↑ AP: "EU Parliament wants to freeze Turkey membership talks" Washington Post of November 24, 2016
- ^ "Criticism of billions in payments by the EU to Turkey" , Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Even before the Association Agreement was concluded in 1963, Turkey had submitted its first application for membership on July 31, 1959, only around 1 1/2 months after Greece." Peter-Christian Müller-Graff (Ed.): The role of the enlarged European Union in the world. Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2006, p. 109. ISBN 978-3-8329-2162-0 .
- ^ Commission Opinion on Turkey's request for accession to the community. In: cvce.eu . 2013, accessed on August 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Helsinki: Presidency Conclusions. In: europa.eu. December 13, 1999, accessed May 7, 2017 .
- ↑ European Council: Meeting of 12 and 13 December 2002, Conclusions of the Presidency, p. 6 (PDF; 140 kB)
- ↑ Parliament : Conservatives for Observer Status ( Memento of May 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), January 31, 2005
- ↑ Negotiations threaten to fail: USA rushes Turkey to EU accession to aid (article of October 3, 2005, www.handelsblatt.com)
- ^ N-tv : Miserable testimony - EU criticizes Turkey , October 30, 2006
- ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : Accession negotiations: EU cancels meetings with Turkey and Cyprus , November 2, 2006
- ↑ Today's Zaman : Turkey to wrap up political reforms before end of 2009 ( Memento of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), April 2, 2007
- ↑ Turkey presents "road map". April 17, 2007, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ^ Horst Bacia, Brussels: EU accession negotiations: France slows down Turkey talks . In: FAZ.NET . June 26, 2007, ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Sarkozy offers Ankara's compromise in the dispute over EU accession | DW | 08/27/2007. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Turkey: Erdogan's AKP scores a clear victory. July 22, 2007, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Turkey: Erdogan wants to increase the pace of reform . In: Spiegel Online . August 31, 2007 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ EU enlargement: Brussels warns: More speed with reforms. November 6, 2007, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Barroso urges reforms in Turkey | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . April 11, 2008, ISSN 0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ Islamization: Turkish Constitutional Court rejects ban on ruling party . In: Spiegel Online . July 30, 2008 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ Religious Office allows conversion from Islam - derStandard.at. May 2, 2008, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Barroso visits Greek patriarchate, as Turkish PM Erdogan criticizes EU . April 12, 2008 ( com.tr [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ Türkiye'nin Ulusal Program'ı hazırlandı ( Memento from August 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Turkey receives a minister for Europe . In: Der Tagesspiegel Online . January 10, 2009, ISSN 1865-2263 ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ^ A stage win for Turkish democracy , in: Zeit online , February 6, 2010.
- ↑ Bundestag faction Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen: EU reflection group: Slap in the face for Merkel and Sarkozy http://www.gruene-bundestag.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/2010/mai/eu-reflexionsgruppe-ohrfeige-fuer-merkel-und-sarkozy_ID_339379 .html ( memento of March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) , May 8, 2010, accessed on August 27, 2011
- ↑ FAZ.net March 29, 2010: Merkel continues to reject Turkey's accession to the EU .
- ↑ Welt.de : Merkel rejects Turkey's EU membership , September 20, 2011, accessed on September 22, 2011
- ↑ Erdogan is pouring grist on the mill of the accession critics
- ↑ Current News - Home Abroad Economy Culture Sport. In: tagesschau.de. August 30, 2011, archived from the original on February 13, 2012 ; accessed on May 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt : Niebel warns: the EU cannot afford Turkey , September 22, 2011, accessed on September 22, 2011
- ↑ Welt.de: EU passes tough judgment on Turkey , October 9, 2012
- ↑ Turkey 2012 Progress report (PDF, October 10, 2012; 0.5 MB)
- ↑ queer.de: Turkey: Campaign against Dutch rainbow family
- ↑ zeit.de: An inkling of Tahrir in Istanbul. Prime Minister Erdoğan has protests against tree felling suppressed. He acts more and more like a despot, the Turks revolt.
- ↑ Turkey's rapprochement with the EU is stalling
- ↑ Germany slows EU negotiations with Turkey Welt.de, accessed on June 22, 2013.
- ↑ A new negotiation chapter has been opened , Zeit online , December 14, 2015.
- ↑ Lenz Jacobsen: In Brussels, Turkey negotiated new chapters in the EU accession process , Zeit online , March 18, 2016.
- ↑ a b c EU and Turkey drive accession negotiations on Focus.de
- ↑ a b Accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia , query date: June 25, 2013.
- ↑ Wolfgang Landmesser: Cyprus: New Hope for Reunification , Deutschlandfunk , January 28, 2016.
- ↑ Bethan McKernan: "European Parliament votes to block Turkey's attempts to join EU" The Independent of November 24, 2016
- ^ "Viennese veto against talks with Turkey" Wiener Zeitung of December 13, 2016
- ↑ EU foreign ministers disagree on Turkey's accession negotiations. Standard.at of April 28, 2017
- ↑ The EU does not want to stop accession negotiations with Turkey. The time of April 28, 2017
- ↑ Ankara's European Minister Celik visited Brussels. euronews.com May 10, 2017
- ^ Albrecht Meier: EU Parliament calls for the accession talks to be suspended. Tagesspiegel.de from July 6, 2017
- ↑ The end of patience. tagesschau.de, July 20, 2017
- ↑ We must not allow ourselves to be blackmailed. welt.de, July 23, 2017
- ↑ Tobias Schulze: Turkey continues to receive German weapons. Taz.de from August 8, 2017
- ↑ Patrick Kingsley, Melissa Eddy: Turkey's Erdogan Refuses to Back Down in Feud With Germany. New York Times July 21, 2017
- ↑ Mariam Lau: Autumn is coming. Die Zeit Online from September 3, 2017
- ^ Gerd Appenzeller: Schulz drives an experienced Merkel. Tagesspiegel.de of September 3, 2017
- ↑ David Mardiste, Gabriela Baczynska: Turkish minister says EU negotiations turning into 'children's game'. Reuters September 8, 2017
- ↑ Andrew Rettman: German bid to end Turkey talks not going well. euobserver.com from September 7, 2017
- ↑ Georgi Gotev: Borissov gives preview of Turkey debate before EU summit dinner. euractiv.com from October 20, 2017
- ↑ Sarantis Michalopoulos: "Turkey and EU shadow-box over illusive accession process" euractiv.com of January 23, 2018
- ↑ "Turkey to press for visa-free travel at Varna summit" euractiv.com of February 8, 2018
- ^ "New beginnings: reassessing EU-Turkey relations" l24.lt of February 8, 2018
- ↑ "Juncker: No termination of Turkey accession talks " Wienerzeitung.at from March 26, 2018
- ↑ Rule of law and freedom of expression: EU gives Turkey the worst rating so far. In: Spiegel Online . April 15, 2018, accessed June 9, 2018 .
- ^ Daniel Brössler: "EU Commission issues Turkey with damning testimony" Sueddeutsche Zeitung from April 17, 2018
- ↑ Reason: Turkey refuses to recognize the EU member Republic of Cyprus. If this obstacle were removed, negotiations could theoretically begin immediately
- ↑ Handelsblatt: EU and Turkey: Urgent warning , December 19, 2008
- ↑ Euronews: EU opens new chapter for Turkey accession , June 30, 2009
- ^ A b Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : EU accession negotiations: France slows down Turkey talks , June 26, 2007
- ↑ EU accession negotiations for Turkey EU and Turkey are getting closer. fr-online.de, November 5, 2013, accessed on November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey/index_en.htm
- ↑ see the note on the movement of goods in this table
- ^ Spiegel Online : Party Congress: CDU adopts new basic program , December 3, 2007
- ^ Turkey: Partnership instead of EU membership , Angela Merkel in der WELT , October 16, 2004
- ^ AfD top candidate Henkel: "Turkey has no place in Europe" from March 16, 2014
- ↑ Why Turkey belongs in the EU , Gerhard Schröder in der WELT , October 13, 2004
- ↑ Does Turkey belong to Europe? (PDF; 218 kB), background paper by MEP Heide Rühle , August 2005
- ↑ Left party for Turkey to join the EU if human rights are respected ( Memento from May 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), press release by Die Linke , August 9, 2005
- ↑ http://berlindirekt.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/23/0,1872,2034103,00.html
- ↑ welt.de: Immediately stop accession negotiations with Turkey ( Memento from May 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Together for Germany. With courage and humanity. Coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD. P. 151 ( PDF ; 660 kB)
- ↑ Dispute with Turkey: Austria pleads for the end of the EU negotiations. In: Spiegel Online , August 4, 2016, accessed on August 4, 2016.
- ↑ Accession negotiations: Austria insists on the end of the EU talks with Turkey . FAZ, August 28, 2016.
- ↑ Armağan Emre Çakır: The United States and Turkey's Path to Europe: Hands Across the Table , Routledge, 2015, ISBN 978-1138186859 , p. 80 and following
- ^ Armağan Emre Çakır: The United States and Turkey's Path to Europe: Hands Across the Table , Routledge, 2015, ISBN 978-1138186859 , p. 275
- ^ Armağan Emre Çakır: The United States and Turkey's Path to Europe: Hands Across the Table , Routledge, 2015, ISBN 978-1138186859 , p. 242
- ↑ Attitudes towards European Union Enlargement , published in July 2006 ( PDF ; 876 kB)
- ↑ Diaspora: Why the Turks' right to vote at home hinders integration , Cem Özdemir in Spiegel Online , March 28, 2007
- ↑ a b Le Figaro: L'entrée de la Turquie mal perçue . October 15, 2007.
- ↑ Kamuoyunun AB Uyeligine Bakisi ve Diger Ulkelere Guveni. Retrieved June 10, 2020 (American English).
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