Turkey, Not an EU Member

There was an inclination to the West in Turkey’s foreign policy from the beginning, evident in the issue of joining the EU. In my opinion, that will not happen and Turkey’s new leaders understood this in their last meeting with European leaders, and consequently new inclinations emerged in Turkey’s foreign policy. The first factor to mention is the religious background of the EU. Christianity is one of the bases of European civilization, and it seems improbable that the EU would accept a Muslim country, albeit secular.

The second factor is European historical memory: the Europeans have coined a term, “the Turk’s Head”, going back to the time of the Turks approaching Vienna’s borders. The opponents of the Turk’s joining the EU have published many papers against the identity and characteristics of the Turks.

The third one is EU problems in the last few years: from 1999, the joining of new countries with new cultures weakened the EU. Now, a country with a different culture may add to the problems.

Therefore, the final position assumed for Turkey by the EU is an excellent allied country, but not a full member. Much pressure exerted on Turkey’s ministry of justice by the EU shows how coordination is hard to achieve. This has illustrated that the Turks should move away from the EU and concentrate on other regions. In fact, Turkey’s present smart policy tends to pave the way to joining the EU by increasing their political weight, although they will not lose anything if they are not successful. At first glance, we should have Pan-Turkism in mind, and consider Iran as a major rival here.

Then, Arab countries and Muslims should be dealt with, because we can be the model for them. Therefore, Turkey has presented itself as the gateway to Europe for Muslim and Turkish-speaking countries to illustrate its importance to Europe; if it is not successful in joining the EU, its influence will increase nonetheless.