eu enlargement and turkey koki mochizuki zhang linlu
TRANSCRIPT
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 2004.
• 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
Economy
Turkish Economy
• Turkey has the 17th largest GDP (current US$) in 2012.
• The Turkish economy grew by 9.2% in 2010, 8.5% in 2011.
Economic integration with EU
• The EU’s share of Turkey’s total trade :41.7% in 2010
40.8% 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 Constitutionlack 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 4th. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turkish_EU_accession_logo2.png• Picture 2. Accessed July 4th. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EU_and_Turkey_Locator_Map.png• Picture 3. Accessed July 4th.
http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/03/27/turkey-warns-cyprus-against-leveraging-energy-assets/• Picture 4. Access July 4th.
http://www.nationalturk.com/en/turkey-ties-with-eu-can-be-suspended-if-cyprus-assumes-eu-presidency-13058
• Accession of Turkey to the European Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Turkey_to_the_European_Union
• EU Enlargement. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey/index_en.htm
• World Databank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?order=wbapi_data_value_2012+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=asc
• EU 2012 Country Report on Turkey. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2012/package/tr_rapport_2012_en.pdf
• 2012 Conclusion document on Turkey’s accession. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2012/package/tr_conclusions_2012_en.pdf