EU Enlargement and Turkey Koki Mochizuki Zhang Linlu

Contents Regional Relations Economy Politics Human Rights

Regional Relations Geographic Position Cyprus Problem

Geographic Position (1)A transcontinental Eurasian country (2)Asian Turkey: 97% (3)European Turkey: 3%

Cyprus Problem Republic of Cyprus The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the land of Cyprus. It joined the European Union in de jure: (from Latin) according to the law

Cyprus Problem Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two parts: The Republic of Cyprus Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Turkey has refused to acknowledge the Republic of Cyprus Turkish –controlled The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey. de facto: (from Latin) existing as a fact although it may not be legally accepted as existing

Economy

Turkish Economy Turkey has the 17 th largest GDP (current US$) in The Turkish economy grew by 9.2% in 2010, 8.5% in Economic integration with EU The EU’s share of Turkey’s total trade :41.7% in % in 2011 The customs union between Turkey and the EU came into effect in 1996.

Economy EU 2012 Country Report on Turkey Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy Overall, Turkey’s level of preparedness is advanced. There has been progress on economic and monetary policy. Alignment with the acquis remains incomplete.

Politics -Democracy -Rule of Law

Political Structure A parliamentary representative democracy The president has a largely ceremonial role Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Minister

Democracy Positive steps in working for a new Constitution  lack of consultation in the legislative process Progress in public administration in the legislative form Ombudsman institution established  still no progress on administrative decentralization Kurdish Problem still prevails (  significant increase in PKK terrorist attacks)

Rule of Law Judiciary Progress through the third judicial reform package Concerns… Length of pre-trial detention Independence, impartiality and efficiency of the system Participation rate of women Law Enforcement Downward trend in torture & ill-treatment Overcrowding of prisons Fighting Corruption Transparency of political financing Lack of investigation on corruption cases

Human Rights Issues -Freedom to Expression -Freedom of Thought & Religion -Freedom of Association & Assembly -Women & Children’s Rights -Minority Rights

Freedom of Expression Some progress Restrictions on the media to report on criminal investigations were eased Seizure of written work before publication was prohibited Still a increase in violation of freedom of expression Website bans

Freedom of Thought & Religion Secularism… Freedom of religion is generally respected Non-Muslim groups still face problems (property rights, access to justice, ability to obtain work, etc…)

Freedom of Association & Assembly Cases of violence and use excessive use of force towards demonstrations that had not received prior authorization The Constitutional right is sometimes interpreted in an overly-restrictive manner

Case Study: #OccupyGezi Started as a peaceful demonstration Use of disproportionate force caused the conflict to escalate

Women & Children’s Rights Progress in legal terms The Law on the Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence against Women  Needs to be implemented consistently across the nation Participation by women in employment, politics & policy making Treatment of juveniles

Minority Rights Representatives of minority groups have been invited to the parliament to express their views on the Constitution Full protection on the culture and fundamental rights still do not meet European standards

Kurdish Problem Kurds… people of Iranian decent Speaks a different language (Indo-European) Approx. 16~25% of the population PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) Considered a terrorist group by the EU Constant terrorist attacks Roboski Massacre (Uludere Killings)

Discussion Questions 1.Should Turkey be accepted by the EU? 2.What should Turkey focus on in order to be part of the EU?

Reference Picture 1. Accessed July 4 th. Picture 2. Accessed July 4 th. Picture 3. Accessed July 4 th. leveraging-energy-assets/ leveraging-energy-assets/ Picture 4. Access July 4 th. cyprus-assumes-eu-presidency-13058http:// cyprus-assumes-eu-presidency Accession of Turkey to the European Union. EU Enlargement. information/turkey/index_en.htmhttp://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country- information/turkey/index_en.htm World Databank. e+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc e+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc EU 2012 Country Report on Turkey Conclusion document on Turkey’s accession.