Turkey and Europe Need Each Other

“Our people want to see Turkey as a free and prosperous partner of the free world. This is what Turkey deserves. But sometimes some wrong and unjust views from the EU have had an impact on public opinion. The EU must understand this.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey

“There are mutual benefits to being together. We share global challenges. There are many global risks around us. The EU needs Turkey as much as Turkey needs the EU.”

Ferit F. Sahenk, Chairman, Dogus Holding, Turkey

"Some reforms have not advanced as quickly as we hoped. If the questions linked to Cyprus are not solved, this will affect the overall negotiations."

Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner, Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Commission, Brussels

“Turkey is going through an incredible economic, political and social transformation. What is most important is that Turkey has been the owner of this transformation. Ownership has been the key to success."

Ali Babacan, Minister of the Economy of Turkey; Chief Negotiator for the European Union; World Economic Forum Young Global Leader


Turkey’s application to join the European Union (EU) has become the concern of the day, hovering above all others on the nation’s agenda. It is linked to practically every challenge confronting Turkey today including its global competitiveness, the rule of law, freedom of expression, the labour market, and even religion. Yet EU membership is not the over-arching question. What is really at issue is the globalization of Turkey and how it addresses the many pressures and risks it faces at home, in the neighbourhoods to which it belongs, and in the world. “In terms of globalization, the EU is the major part of the economic programme and development of Turkey, but the rest of the world is also very important,” said meeting Co-Chair Peter D. Sutherland, Chairman, Goldman Sachs International, United Kingdom; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum.

The significant geopolitical and strategic roles Turkey plays in the world, as well as its position as a bridge between civilizations, cannot be minimized. Nor should its growing potential as a major energy corridor, a big consumer market, a large source of skilled labour, and a financial services hub be dismissed. “There are mutual benefits to being together,” said Ferit F. Sahenk, Chairman, Dogus Holding, Turkey. “ We share global challenges. There are many global risks around us. The EU needs Turkey as much as Turkey needs the EU.”

Yet the overwhelming logic of a partnership is typically lost amid the debate over differences or potential sources of friction. Turkey’s accession has divided governments and public opinion in Europe, with those against membership worried that it will lead to a surge in migration and then to job losses in their countries. Others dwell on Turkey’s roots in the East and the fact that it is a predominantly Muslim country. Can such a place fit into the European club?

Still others focus on Turkey’s turbulent past and the remains of those days – the role of the military, the controls on the press and freedom of expression, doubts about the rule of law, and corruption. Cyprus, of course, is still a highly emotional issue that raises nationalist sentiment in Turkey, even more so now that the Greek-controlled part of the divided island was admitted to the EU in 2004 after the Turkish side approved a UN-brokered solution which the Greek side rejected. "Some reforms have not advanced as quickly as we hoped,” said Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner, Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Commission, Brussels. He added: "If the questions linked to Cyprus are not solved, this will affect the overall negotiations."

Participants at the World Economic Forum in Turkey were in the main among the believers so discussion focused more on how to convince an increasingly skeptical Turks – once wildly enthusiastic about membership – and suspicious Europeans that Turkey’s joining the EU would be in their interest. The mood of both publics is fluctuating. The move by the EU to freeze part of the membership talks over Turkish restrictions on the access of ships and planes from Cyprus to its ports and airports will inevitably deepen Turkish disappointment and encourage opponents of accession. Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise gift of support for membership on his arrival in Ankara in November boosted Turkish spirits.

The challenge for Turkey is keep its eye on the prize and resist walking away from the talks in a nationalist pique. Turkish leaders should resist stoking such sentiment, even though it may be natural to do so in the run-up to elections. The Turkish people should understand that EU accession will take time and require further economic, political and social reforms, though they have already paid a price in accepting the structural changes that have been implemented so far. To be sure, they should appreciate their considerable achievements. “Turkey is going through an incredible economic, political and social transformation,” said Ali Babacan, Minister of the Economy of Turkey; Chief Negotiator for the European Union; World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. "What is most important is that Turkey has been the owner of this transformation. Ownership has been the key to success." Added Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Public Economics, Leiden University, Netherlands, who was also a meeting Co-Chair: “My impression is that all this is irreversible.”

For all its pains, Turkey is sending a strong signal to Europe and others that democracy, secularism, Islam and economic growth can co-exist, Babacan explained. These are positive factors that Turkey brings to the negotiating table. Turkey, after all, can help Europe address its demographic deficits, provide deeper links to a large market and low-cost labour pool that is already in a customs union with the EU, and offer a bridge between civilizations. Said Babacan: "Turkey has a young and growing population. Until recently, this was perceived as a problem, a burden that Turkey would bring to the EU. But it is in fact an asset that can help the population deficit of the EU and the economic growth of Turkey."

For their part, the Europeans should update their perceptions of Turkey and focus not on the risks but on the opportunities that Turkey clearly offers in helping Europe mitigate a range of risks. And as much as Turkey should do so, they too must recognize that accession negotiations usually take years and that Turkey has implemented many reforms that will take time to implement in full. “This is a change of mentality,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, explained. “Our people want to see Turkey as a free and prosperous partner of the free world. This is what Turkey deserves. But sometimes some wrong and unjust views from the EU have had an impact on public opinion. The EU must understand this.”

The EU should resist imposing double standards or new requirements on Turkish membership. It has not been unfair, EU leaders at the meeting insisted. Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania, called allegations of double standards "nothing but false illusions." No prospective member has waltzed to Brussels without their share of stumbles. “We are not dealing with easy issues,” said Sutherland. “It’s a long road with bumps and difficult turns. It requires patience and understanding of the difficulties.” Many Europeans have feel threatened by Turkey’s knock on the door, he acknowledged. Some who had been among the most open-minded have suddenly become the most intolerant. Obviously, Europe too is changing, Halberstadt remarked.

Perhaps then the greatest mutual benefit of Turkey’s EU accession will be the bridging of East and West that would have been impossible to contemplate only a few years ago and, in the shadow of 9-11 and the bombings in Madrid and London, might still seem improbable even wrong to many. But it is precisely the evil motives of the perpetrators of those tragic attacks that drive the logic of a Turkey-EU embrace. "The alliance of civilizations is the antidote to the clash of civilizations," Sutherland concluded. "Neither Europe nor Turkey will see this as a dialogue of constant remonstration but it should be a dialogue of constant reconciliation."