Raise the topic of Turkey’s EU accession these days and most people will look at you pityingly. Didn’t you read the news about Greece’s narrow escape and the ongoing uncertainty about the euro, they might ask. Or did you miss the latest spectacular growth figures on the Turkish economy? Why would Turkey want to join a union that is going through an existential crisis while the country is performing so well on its own?
Even prominent Europeans like former NATO supremo and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana admit that Europe is in danger of becoming a museum, occupied by a shrinking population that is growing older each decade but still does not want to accept that joining forces with young and dynamic countries like Turkey is necessary for its own survival.
When you think, on top of that, of the rise of Islamophobia in several European countries, it is easy to come to the conclusion that the EU has given up on Turkey and that Turkey should, therefore, forget about the EU and look for other options.
My advice would be not to jump to conclusions. The EU has survived similar crises before, the Turkish economy is not as robust as some claim and, most importantly, many Europeans know very well that it is in their own long-term interests for the EU and Turkey to get together.
Last Tuesday evening I was present at an occasion that proves the last point. In Essen, the center of the Ruhr area, one of the industrial heartlands of Germany, Güler Sabancı, head of Sabancı Holding, delivered the annual Mercator lecture. Stiftung Mercator is one of the largest private foundations in Germany, named after the famous German cartographer and cosmographer Gerhard Mercator. It is a name that is associated with global thinking, scientific precision and entrepreneurship. According to the founders, Mercator’s life also symbolizes the significance of intercultural and interreligious tolerance, values that the foundation supports. Stiftung Mercator was founded by the Schmidt family, one of the main shareholders of the highly successful Metro Group, also known in Turkey for its supermarkets and electronics retailers.
In her speech Sabancı stressed the need for a common German-Turkish approach to global challenges such as climate change, the turbulent global economy and political instability in the region. The two countries are closely connected economically and demographically with around 2.7 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany. Both states are doing well and feel confident about their future. At the same time, Sabancı underlined, we have all become much more interdependent than two or three decades ago. For instance, both Germany and Turkey have an interest in Greece’s recovery because the European and world economy as a whole could be threatened and that would affect all of us.
Güler Sabancı also used her speech to announce the decision of Stiftung Mercator and Sabancı University to launch a strategic and long-term cooperation that will be implemented by the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC). The partnership will focus on three core areas: climate change, education and a common German-Turkish approach to the future of Europe and EU-Turkey relations.
After Europe and China, Turkey will be the third region or country that Mercator will focus on because they believe these are crucial areas for Germany in a globalized world. This decision shows how key economic and intellectual players in Germany look at Turkey. They have to accept that the present German government is not very keen on Turkey’s accession to the EU. They realize that it might take some time before Turkey will join. But they know very well that it is in Germany’s and Turkey’s long-term interest to strengthen the ties that already bind them together. In the globalized world of the 21st century, even big players like Germany and Turkey are well advised to focus on their common interests, be it energy security or stable and democratic neighbors. As Sabancı put it when speaking about Turkey’s relations with the EU: “Governments come and go. Relationships remain. And they get better.”
via
Joost Lagendijk
Today’s Zaman