The Patriarchate of Moscow has serious misgivings about the possibility of Turkey becoming a member state of the European Union. So says a statement put out by the Department of Foreign Relations of the Patriarchate in response to a “discussion paper” drafted by the CEC (Conference of the European Churches that represents 124 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches throughout Europe), dedicated to the relations between the European Union and Turkey. “The participation of Turkey in the EU writes the Patriarchate of Moscow is impossible without the existing contradictions between Turkey and the European States first being resolved. And this is impossible if reciprocal injuries and affronts are not first recognized, and without a revision of past history and concrete steps being taken towards reconciliation and cooperation”. Two reasons of perplexity are raised by Moscow. The first is of geographical nature: “as is well known says the statement 80% of Turkish territory is situated in Asia and only 20% in Europe”. The problem is that “a possible entry of Turkey into the EU would inevitably lead to other states situated on the shores of the Mediterranean claiming a European identity and aspiring to enter the EU. If Turkey were to be admitted, would the European Union be able to deny assess to these states?”. The other misgiving is predicated on the more delicate question of minorities. What worries “in particular” the Russian Church is the situation of the “Orthodox Church of Constantinople” which enjoys “no right to a legal identity at the present time. There are also problems relating to the restitution of churches and the opening of the theological seminary of Halki”. Moscow points out that the other Christian communities in Turkey are also subject to “government control” and to “political and administrative restrictions”.
