Speech Europaforum, Hässleholm 14 April 2008
Cecilia Malmström, Minister for EU Affairs

Turkey and the EU

Thank you for inviting me to speak here today on a subject that is highly topical and that I feel very strongly about.

Enlargement is the EU's greatest foreign policy success. It has united east and west and created greater stability and security in Europe and in our neighbourhood. It has helped to deepen democracy and increase respect for human rights. It has also revitalised Europe's economy, contributed to environmental improvements and strengthened our common fight against organised crime.

The Government wants to safeguard this process and to continue to draw attention to the positive contributions that Turkey can also make to a larger and even stronger and more multifaceted Union. Last week, I had the opportunity to discuss Turkey's negotiations on membership when Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Stockholm. Both the Government and I are strong advocates of Turkish EU membership and we were also able to state this personally during the visit.

We recommend membership - when Turkey fulfils the criteria - because we believe that a democratic and open Turkey has much to contribute to the EU and that the country will be able to serve as an important bridge between Europe and the Muslim world. There is naturally still a long way to go before membership can be considered, but it is important that we send positive signals to Turkey and to all those people who want the Prime Minister and the Government to move closer to Europe and bring the country into the EU. We need to show our support particularly now that he and his party are experiencing major problems with nationalist forces who have reported the ruling AKP party to the Constitutional Court. The whole matter may appear farcical but is an example of the powerful forces struggling in this country. It is no less than an attempt at a constitutional coup d'état.

Since the country was founded in 1923, Turkey has had a strong European orientation. The country has had association and trade agreements with the former European Community since the 1960s and after two membership applications, it was gratifying that the EU took the unanimous decision to initiate membership negotiations in December 2005. This was a great achievement for the Turkish government.

Although much still remains to be done, Turkey has undergone a radical transformation during the reform process of recent years. Unfortunately the impressive pace of reform initiated by the AKP party during its previous term of office has come to a halt in several respects.

Nonetheless, let me mention some examples of enormous changes:

- The death penalty has been completely abolished. The government has declared zero tolerance against torture and introduced laws to support this - even if implementation is still somewhat deficient. The new penal code entails considerably stronger rights for women, particularly regarding 'honour-related' crimes.

- The influence of the military in political life continues to be strong but has been limited by new legislation. In this area, however, much remains to be done.

- Freedom of expression is laid down in the Constitution in Turkey but the many prosecutions that have occurred and are occurring of writers, intellectuals and other groups show that there are still many taboos to address. Article 301 of the penal code, now quite notorious, must be thoroughly reviewed, or annulled. In our eyes it represents an overzealous protection of the state and its symbols. In connection with his visit to Sweden, Mr Erdogan gave assurances that the Turkish parliament was preparing to amend this law. But there are more paragraphs of the same kind that also need to be dealt with.

Mr Erdogan has also promised that a proposal for a new Constitution and freedom of expression would soon be put back on the agenda.

- With regard to cultural rights, progress has also been made. There are now slightly more opportunities for Kurds to use their language openly. Public and private radio and TV programmes are broadcast in Kurdish to some extent. At the same time, we know that discrimination is very extensive and that the Kurds are not recognised as the large minority that they are.

However, the widespread terrorism of which Turkey has been, and is the victim, obstructs efforts to create a dialogue and build up trust. Sweden expects the government in Ankara to act on the words of Prime Minister Erdogan that "the Kurdish problem is my problem" and on the need to deal with the economic and social neglect of south-eastern Turkey by promoting long-term development. Some steps have been taken towards this, and others have been announced. During the previous term of office and up to now, for example, USD 7.5 billion has been invested in infrastructure projects in south-east Turkey.

It is the perspective of EU membership that has united different groups in Turkish society in recent years and that has been a uniquely powerful driving force for change and positive development. It is important to keep this in mind.

The reunification of Cyprus

Further positive developments have occurred in recent months. When the Turkish government supported Kofi Annan's plan for reunification of Cyprus in 2004 it was taking a great risk in a very sensitive issue in terms of domestic politics. This was a courageous move and the government deserves considerable recognition for it. It was a tragedy for the Cypriots themselves, for Turkey and for the EU that the Greek Cypriots rejected the plan in the referendum that took place on both sides of the island in 2004. It also meant that a divided Cyprus became a member of the EU.

Recent political developments on Cyprus today, however, are a welcome bright spot that is closely connected with the Turkey negotiations. Since the Greek Cypriots' negative vote, Turkey's EU negotiations have been greatly influenced by the bilateral problems between Cyprus and Turkey. However there is new hope now that the new Cypriot President Christofias, like the leader of the Turkish Cypriot population, Talat, has expressed his determination, with the support of the UN, to initiate new negotiations so as to finally solve the conflict and reunify the Cyprus that has been divided for 34 years. They met for the first time on Good Friday with the aim of starting real, UN-led negotiations, in June.

An important symbolic step towards the reunification of a divided Cyprus was taken on Thursday of last week. This was when the barrier was demolished that for almost 45 years has divided the shopping mall Ledra Street, in the heart of Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus. In Swedish daily newspapers, pictures of happy people standing out on the streets raising their glasses and celebrating could be seen. The opening of Ledra Street is regarded as a further sign of a new thawing of relations in the Cyprus issue.

Sweden and the EU have every reason to give very strong support to this development. Naturally primarily for the Cypriots themselves. Reunification would promote reconciliation in one of our Member States and contribute positively to the entire European Union. A solution would also resolve many of the deadlocks in the Turkish EU process and would inject new energy into it.

At present six of the 35 negotiation chapters have been opened. During the spring and the Slovenian Presidency, it should be possible to open a further two or three chapters. During our eighteen month trio due to begin in July, we are hoping to be able to open further chapters and show some real progress. The speed of negotiations will of course ultimately be determined by the will to reform in Ankara. This was something that we made clear to our Turkish guests last Wednesday. There are no short cuts: the Copenhagen criteria must be followed.

So why is there scepticism?

Despite the largely positive developments, we hear discussions about the country that are characterised by doubts, rhetoric and scepticism. Why is this the case?

It is partly due to the fact that the EU invited Turkey to the negotiating table merely out of politeness. In its conclusions, the Council stated that negotiations are not a guarantee of membership and that permanent exemptions from the free movement of labour may be made. It is no secret that some countries do not want to see Turkey as an EU member.

In the background there is increasing concern about the enlargement from EU15 to EU25. This, in turn, is based on alarm about unemployment and globalisation in general, and about a shift in the balance of power in the Council and the extensive costs. There are also elements of xenophobia and islamophobia here and there.

The overall message to 70 million hopeful Turks, to the most reform-minded government Turkey has ever had, to one of Europe's most dynamic economies, to a country which, with its young and relatively well-educated population, will provide the EU with unprecedented development potential: it makes no difference whether or not you do everything the EU demands - when you do, we'll still have to see whether we want to accept you! We'll have to see whether we can afford it!

This signal has certainly been perceived in Turkey and is also being proclaimed even louder by groups there who see themselves as the losers of these reforms. Reactions have not been slow in coming. The reform process has lost momentum and in public opinion, support for EU membership has also dramatically declined.

The difficulties in injecting new vitality into a solution to the Cyprus question after the referendum of 2004 within the framework of the UN also contributed to considerable Turkish disappointment, which lasted for quite a long time.
The view that dominates among the member states, however, is quite clearly that the EU has promised Turkey a fair chance. If all the EU requirements are fulfilled, it should be possible to become a member. It is this perspective that has been the strongest incentive for the extensive reform process undergone by Turkey in recent years. It is also a signal that Sweden is very clearly giving. When Turkey meets the requirements, the country will belong to the European Union, as a full member.
When the EU is ambiguous about this objective, we also risk weakening the reform process. In the worst case, we even risk pushing Turkey away, at a time when we are also more dependent than ever on stability and democracy in the part of the world that borders on what may be the world's most turbulent region: the Middle East. Here Turkey is a strategic, European partner of enormous importance.

If Turkey were to be decoupled from the EU process, this would not only threaten the continued reform process in that country, but also in all the candidate and potential candidate countries. It would also trigger a serious crisis between the EU and Turkey, with regional - and perhaps even global - consequences for the view of the EU and the EU's credibility as a negotiating partner. If this were the case, it would be the first time for a candidate country to fail to become an EU member and perhaps even to be turned away by the EU. The effect of this signal would be disastrous.

I am convinced that a democratically and economically stable Turkey can play an important role in European cooperation. Turkish EU membership would be good for Turkey and its population, it would be good for the EU and for the entire region.

Turkey enjoys a rich history and culture, an important security policy position, a growing economy and a large, well-educated and hardworking population. The bridge-building role between the "West and the Orient", or between Europe and the Muslim world that Turkey has assumed is of incredible value.

Thank you.