Turkey; the public debate from country to country

Important decisions in the European Union are often taken without much public debate. Only when the consequences of such decisions are being felt by the public do they suddenly start protesting. Thus, hardly anyone outside of Brussels seemed to care a bit when the decision was made to swap most Western European currencies for the Euro, but when the Euro was actually introduced it met with great resentment. And much of the opposition to the European constitution focused on previous treaties that hadn’t aroused much interest when they were first formulated. We wondered whether the same might happen with the accession of Turkey. Therefore we asked some European partner organisations about the issue. We wanted to know to what extent there was a public debate on the matter in their country. What are the prevalent views? And are public views reflected in government policy? We found out that the debate is not very heated generally. But the arguments for and against are quite surprising at times. Who would have expected the Ukraine to be of any importance in the matter, as proves to be the case in Poland?

The Czech debate

There was very little, if any, public debate in my country on the accession of Turkey,’ according to Ladislav Venys from the Center for Democracy and Free Enterprise in Prague. ‘Several articles appeared in our dailies which presented the views of a few commentators but not necessarily the public at large. If I should evaluate those comments I’d say that the positive vs. negative approaches to the accession were more or less equal.’

The Czech views

‘The public was not interested very much in the topic and left the decision to our politicians. The Czechs do not feel endangered directly by possible influx of migratory Turks as we have, first of all, quite strict immigration policies and, second, we are not so attractive economically and so liberal and tolerant socially as some of our western neighbours.’

The Czech policy

‘Contrary to the lukewarm views and attitudes of our public, our government took a very cautious, warning, negative attitude to the Turkish entry to the European Union and was intentionally slowing down (or even blocking) the last top level EU meeting of foreign ministers and heads of states. It gave its hesitant okay really at the last minute only. I presume it was a political game, a strategy which I cannot decipher at the moment. It may have something to do with a global strategy of social democrats in the European Union, but it may also have some local (Czech) motives in the pre-election period we are in at the moment.’

The Bulgarian debate

‘As of November 2005, the Bulgarian public debate on Turkey’s accession is very limited and is completely overshadowed by the more pressing debates on Bulgaria’s own accession challenges,’ according to Georgy Ganev from the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia. ‘The topic of Turkey as an EU member can be found in some analytical magazines, and occasionally in newspaper articles.’

The Bulgarian views

‘This limited activity of the debate notwithstanding, it has already generated three distinct attitudes towards the accession of Turkey. The first one is in favour of the accession, supported by both economic and security arguments. The second one is against accession, supported mainly by nationalistic and religious arguments. It is used most broadly by nationalistic parties who capitalize on the ethnic Bulgarians’ feelings related to the historic period when present day Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule. The third one is the position in the middle, characterized by cautiousness related to both risks and opportunities offered by Turkey’s accession. The general public opinion has not been studied with respect to this concrete question, but 37 % of Bulgarians approve of closer integration and relationships with Turkey, while only 5 % oppose it.’

The Bulgarian policy

‘Meanwhile, the official position of the Bulgarian government on the issue has been one of passive support. Bulgarian officials have always declared support for Turkey’s accession, but only after being explicitly asked about it.’

The Irish debate

‘In Ireland, there has been limited public debate on the matter of Turkish membership of the European Union,’ according to Paula Clancy from the Thinktank for Action on Social Change in Dublin. ‘While the 2004 EU enlargement has been accepted without much difficulty by the Irish people, the same cannot be said of future possible enlargements. Whether this absence of debate in Ireland "reflects an open minded attitude or a reluctance to express opinions that might be characterised as religiously intolerant remains to be seen" (Europe’s World, Autumn 2005, www.europesworld.org). A review of the Irish Times, the leading broadsheet in Ireland, found that in the past year about 80 articles have been published on the subject of Turkey’s accession to the European Union. In contrast, approximately 270 articles were published during the same period on the subject of the EU Constitution.’

The Irish views

‘According to Eurobarometer Spring 2005 survey, 29% of Irish respondents favour an enlargement of the European Union that includes all countries wishing to join, 39% favour limiting enlargement to include only some of those countries that wish to join, while 13% believe that the EU should not be further enlarged. Moreover, 40% or less of Irish people favour the membership of Serbia and Montenegro, Albania and Turkey. This is contrast to Switzerland and Norway, which are favoured by over 70% of Irish respondents. Additionally, more than 90% of Irish people, either in favour of or against Turkey’s membership of the European Union, agree that "to join the EU in about 10 years, Turkey will have to respect systematically Human Rights" and that "to join the EU in about 10 years, Turkey will have to significantly improve the state of its economy." Irish people in favour of Turkish membership are likely to agree that Turkey is part of Europe because of its geography (90%), its history (80 %), that Turkey’s accession will enhance understanding between European and Muslim values (81%), strengthen security and help rejuvenate an ageing European population (70%). Those Irish people against Turkey’s joining the European Union are likely to agree with the view that the cultural differences "are too significant to allow for this accession" (78%).’

The Irish policy

‘Irish government is supportive of and welcomed agreement on accession talks regarding Turkish membership of the European Union, provided that the criteria set out in the Ankara Agreement are accepted by Turkey. According to the Irish government, the Turkish government should seek to normalise relations with Cyprus and the Taoiseach stated that Turkey should not be allowed to start EU membership talks unless it has extended the Ankara Agreement to all the new member states.’

The Polish debate

‘The "Turkish question" has not caused any deeper public debate in Poland and is more or less a function or by-product of another debate – the debate about a membership of the Ukraine,’ according to Klaus Bachmann from the Willy Brandt Center for German and European Studies in Wroclaw. ‘The reason for this development is a change of paradigm in Polish foreign policy that had geopolitical reasons and led to a shift in public opinion during the nineties. Immediately after her declaration of independence, the Ukraine was perceived as a threat – for various historical reasons connected to the dramatic Polish-Ukrainian past. But the political establishment quickly realized that the independence of the Eastern neighbour could be a warranty against neo-imperial tendencies in Russia. The consequence was a process of reconciliation that enabled the western oriented part of the Ukrainian political establishment to use Poland as a bridge to the West and to western institutions. This process experienced a dramatic acceleration during the "Orange Revolution", perceived in Poland as a parallel to the Solidarity Movement in Poland in the eighties and a "march towards the West" that should petrify the independence of the country and ameliorate the geopolitical situation of Poland. The main focus of the EU-enlargement debate lays thus on the Ukraine, not Turkey. Nevertheless there were discussions in the media and among politicians, if the accession of Turkey could facilitate or rather complicate a possible accession of the Ukraine.’

The Polish views

‘According to the last Eurobarometer-survey, support in Poland for the accession of Turkey is one of the highest in the whole European Union. Only in Spain the level of support is higher than in Poland. 54 per cent of the Polish population is in favour of Turkey’s membership in the Union.’

The Polish policy

‘The former Polish government and president Aleksander Kwasniewski supported the Turkish ambitions. The new government, probably a minority cabinet under the auspices of the populist "Law and Justice" party that won the elections in autumn 2005, has not yet undergone the necessary vote of confidence in parliament. Its new foreign minister does not belong to the ruling party and is a rather liberal, pro-European diplomat. However, prime minister Marcinkiewicz belongs to a conservative catholic movement within "Law and Justice" that believes the European Union should be based on Christian values, which is contradictory to attempts to offer membership to Turkey.’

Krijn Peter Hesselink, Instituut voor Publiek en Politiek, Amsterdam