Turkey, the test begins” “

The negotiations between the Eu and Ankara for Turkey’s membership of the EU began on the night between 3 and 4 October. “For us it is the beginning of a new era” were the first words of Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, who signed the accord in the presence of the current President of the European Council of Ministers, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, the European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn and the EU high representative for foreign policy Javier Solana. It is a result achieved also due to the pressure of the White House. According to some diplomatic sources, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice phoned the Turkish Prime Minister, Erdogan, to assure him that the negotiations between the EU and Ankara will have no repercussions on NATO. Turkey had expressed concerns that Cyprus could enter into the Alliance before a solution were found to the dispute with Greece. AN OBJECTIVE TO BE SUPPORTED. “A stable, democratic and modern Turkey is an objective we must actively support”, declared the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, commenting on the EU go-ahead to membership negotiations with Turkey. “Of course – he added – the process will be long and difficult. Membership is neither guaranteed nor automatic. Turkey must be treated like all the other candidate countries. She must strictly respect the principles of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law if she wants to belong to the club. Europe, for her part, must learn to get to know Turkey better. And Turkey must conquer the hearts and minds of European citizens because it is they who shall decide on Turkey’s accession”. The comment of the President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, was also positive, though he made a point of saying “we need to wait for Turkey to fully respect all the conditions posed”. “Turkey forms part of Europe”, was the comment of the general secretary of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, according to whom it will be important to verify “whether Europe is able to grasp the fact that an Islamic country says it is ready to embrace democratic values and the primacy of law”. THE NEGOTIATING FRAMEWORK. Rigour, no certainty about the successful outcome of the negotiations, which could be suspended, and respect for EU law: these are some of the key points at the basis of the deal that will regulate Turkey’s membership of the EU. But this, if the negotiations are positive, will in any case only take place after 2014, the planned date for the entry into force of the budget following that for the period 2007-13. The negotiations between Ankara and Brussels will be “open-ended”, i.e. with no guaranteed result. Provision is also made for the suspension of the negotiations “in the event of serious and persistent violation by Turkey of the principles of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, fundamental liberties and the rule of law on which the Union is founded”. The document also touches on another criterion: “capacity for absorption”, in other words the “capacity of the Union to absorb Turkey, while maintaining the pace of integration”. Lastly, reference is made to the vexed question of Cyprus. In this regard, the EU asks for the continuation of “Turkey’s efforts to reach a global settlement of the Cypriot question in the framework of the UNO”. The negotiations will take place in the framework of an intergovernmental conference. A LONG PROCESS: 46 YEARS. Turkey’s first request to become an associate member of the European Economic Community (EEC) dates back to September 1959. But it was not until four years later, in 1963, that Turkey was able to sign an accord of “association” with the EEC with a view to the establishment of a customs union. Article 28 of the document is particularly important: it speaks of the possibility of full membership. Between 1974 and 1980, however, Turkey’s rapprochement with Europe was frozen as a result first of the invasion of Cyprus (1974) and then the military coup d’état in Ankara (1980). In April 1987, a year after the resumption of its overtures to Europe, Turkey presented itself as a candidate for full membership of the EEC. Meanwhile the Turkish parliamentary system had been restored. In 1996 the customs union with the European Community came into force, but the following year the EU Council in Luxembourg froze Turkish membership aspirations. The decision was partially mitigated by that taken at the subsequent Council in Helsinki, in December 1999, when the country’s status as candidate country was recognized, but without indicating any date for the opening of negotiations. To fulfil the Copenhagen criteria (of 1993) Turkey between 2001 and 2002 launched a series of reforms in the direction of respect for human rights and of minorities. In December 2004 European leaders decided to begin Turkey’s accession negotiations on 3 October 2005. In 2005 the new Turkish penal code came into force. In July Turkey signed the protocol for the extension of the customs union and on 28 September the European Parliament finally gave the go-ahead to negotiations, without ratifying the protocol on the extension of the EU-Turkey customs union. The EP also asked that the genocide of Armenians be recognized by Ankara as a prior condition for eventual membership. After lengthy negotiations the EU fixed 3 October for the start of membership negotiations.