Turkey’s motive to become European Union member under prime minister Recep Tayyip erdogan (2010-2013)

(1)

TURKEY’S

MOTIVE TO BECOME EUROPEAN

UNION MEMBER UNDER PRIME MINISTER RECEP

TAYYIP ERDOGAN (2010-2013)

An Undergraduate Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations

By:

FirdaElmiduri

1110114000008

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH JAKARTA

(2)

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

This thesis entitled:

T

URKEY‟S MOTIVE TO BECOME EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER

UNDER PRIME MINISTER RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN (2010-2013)

1. Is my original work proposed to fulfill one of requirements to obtain undergraduate degree in State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

2. All sources used in this thesis I have attached according to the rules applied in State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

3. If this thesis is afterwards found not as my original work or recognized as plagiarize

from other‟s work, I agree to take all the responsibilities and penalties applied by State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

Jakarta, 18 November 2014

(3)

(4)

(5)

ABSTRACT

This thesis elaborates the reasons behind Turkey's effort to keep pursuing an official status of European member. The Turkey‟s persistence in this accession is questionable because basically the accession process run by Turkey to join the EU is the longest process ever felt by the candidate countries. In addition, Turkey has earned much progress in the economic and political field since Turkey has been led by PM Erdogan and AKP party. By that condition, Turkey's name is often discussed by the world due to its economic success. In the Contrary, in 2010-2013 when the Turkish economy was inflating rapidly, the European Union was in crisis, but the Turkish government did not retreat from this accession process.

This thesis aims to analyze what areactually the motives of Turkey's foreign policy which is still maintaining the accession amid the unfavorable condition of European Union. This analysis uses the Foreign Policy theory that will identify the internal and external factors that affect Turkish foreign policy-making. After knowing the factors behind the foreign policy, the thesis will identify the motives behind that Turkey's policy by using the concept of national interest.

(6)

PREFACE

Alhamdulillahirabbil‟alamin. Praise be to Allah, the creator of mankind with their superiorities and shortage. Because of His will that the author finally could complete this thesis with all experiences the author has been through. It had been difficult years to get to this place. Shalawat and Salaam to His messenger prophet Muhammad PBUH who has thought his people about everything in this world. Peace be upon him.

It is impossible to state all persons that have contributed to the progress and the development of the author as a student of International Relations at State Islamic University SyarifHidayatullah Jakarta. However, there are four eminent figures which influence her intellectual experience during the making of her thesis. First is Mr. A. FuadFananias her thesis advisor who shares his wisdom, patient and guidance towards the author to finish this thesis. His criticism, advices and overall contributions to her thesis have helped her greatly. Second is Mrs. Debby Affianty, M.Si as her former thesis advisorwho gives main idea to start her thesis. Furthermore, Mr. Ahmad Alfajri as an enlightement lecture who guided the author to find the title and to let her know how to start the best writing.

The author would also thank toMrs. Debby Affiantyas the head of department of International Relations, Mr. Agus Nilmada as the secretary of department of International Relations, all lecturers that have taught her in this university, and all staff in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of State Islamic University SyarifHidayatullah Jakarta.

The author also wants to say thanks to her parent, a mother and father, Setianingsih and Rafiudin,who have never stopped loving, encouraging and teaching their children and also paying all the study needs during her study. And the special thanks will also be addressed to my lovely husband, Mr Hasan Basri and my baby that still stays in stomach who always accompanied and helped her to find the inspiration during her writing. There is nothing can ever replace their love. To my dearest brothers and sisters Ibnu Fajar, Annisa Ulfa, and Sultan Rafi, my dearest grandparents Fatimah who have always give supports and spirits to finish this research. To my mother and father in law, Hj. Faridah and H. Hasibin, and also to my sisters and brothers in law thank you for all your pray and support to finish this writing.

(7)

much advices and knowladges particularly about Hadis. And thanks also to my lecturers in Darussunnah who teach me every day.

My special thanks to “International Relations (International Class, 2010 Batch)”: Maryam, Gandis, Titi, Muti, Mutiara, Natasha, Takdir, Fikri, Farhan, Nadia, Resti, Febi, and all of you. Having classmates like you guys are awesome experience. Thank you for your shower of prays and supports. We are family, remember. The author also thanks to her senior and junior IRs International family from 2007-2011 who has made this campus environment special and unforgetable. In addition, I want to also say thank you very much for my mates in Darussunnah "Fushilat" and also the juniors and seniors of us, thank you for being my friends and thanks for your prays.

Last, I dedicate this thesis as reward for my efforts in facing the challenges for the last one year.

Ciputat, 18 November 2014

(8)

LIST OF ABBREVATION

EC European Community

EU European Union

WSJ Wall Street Journal

GDP Gross Domestic Product

AKP Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi

JDP Justice and Development Party

SCO Shanghai Cooperation Organizaton

ECSC European Coal and Steel Community

EEC European Economic Community

EAEC European atomic Energy Community

ECU Educators Credit Union

NPAA National Programmes for the Adoption of the Acquis

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

(9)

G. Outline:

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION H. Background I. Research Question

J. Objectives And Benefits Of Research K. Literature Review

L. Theoretical Framework M.Research Method N. Research Outline

CHAPTER II EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKISH EFFORT TO BECOME EU MEMBER BEFORE PM ERDOGAN ERA

C. Organization of European Integration: European Union 3. Background and Its Enlargement

4. The Provision to Become European Union Permanent Member

D. The Turkish Effort for EU Membership Before PM Erdogan Leadership

5. Turkish Application for European Union 6. Turkish Motives behind Its Application

a. Economy b. Politics

7. European Union‟s Response Toward Turkish Application for EU Membership Status Before PM Erdogan Era

CHAPTER III TURKISH EFFORT FOR EU MEMBERSHIP IN PM ERDOGAN ERA

D. The Success of Turkey under PM Erdogan 3.Economy

4.Politics

(29)

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF TURKEY‟S FOREIGN POLICY AND ITS MOTIVES TO BECOME EU MEMBER STATE

C. Analysis of Turkish Foreign Policy: Keep Maintaining the Accession in European Union under PM Erdogan Leadership (2010-2013)

3. External Factors

4) Nature of The World Economy 5) World Opinion

6) Structure of The System 4. Domestic Factors

4) National Atributes 5) Public Opinion 6) Bureaucracy

D. National Interest of Turkey behind Its Foreign Policy 4. Economic Purposes

5. Stability of Domestic Politics 6. European Status

(30)

CHAPTER II

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKISH EFFORT TO BECOME EU

MEMBER BEFORE PM ERDOGAN ERA

A. Organization of European Integration: European Union

1. The Background and Its Enlargement

The European Union (EU), created by the Maastricht Treaty on November

1st 1993, is a unification of 28 member states that were united to create a political

and economic community throughout Europe.39 It is a political and economic

union between European countries which makes its own policies concerning the

members‟ economies, societies, law and to some extent security.40

This

organization has good records on its potential and outcome in various aspects

particularly in economy.

In the structure of the European Union, the "Institutional Triangle" play big

role in creating treaty and law. The “Institutional Triangle” consists of the Council

representing national governments, the European Parliament representing the

people, and the European Commission that is responsible for holding up Europe's

main interests. In addition, the European Commission also monitors the

candidate's progress in applying EU legislation and meeting its other

commitments, including any benchmark requirements. The Commission also

keeps the EU Council and European Parliament informed throughout the process,

39_{Amanda Briney,}_{The European Union: A History and Overview}_{, 29 May 2014. [database online], available} from: http://geography.about.com/od/geographyintern/a/euoverview.htm, accessed at 23th of April, 2014 40_{Robert Wilde,}_{History of The European Union}_{, [article online], available from:}

(31)

through regular reports, strategy papers, and clarifications on conditions for

further progress.41

Nowadays the European Union (EU) has 28 Member States. Following the

first six Member States which are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg

and the Netherlands, and 22 countries have acceded to the Union and here are the

data of those member states:

1973: Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom;

1981: Greece;

1986: Spain and Portugal;

1995: Austria, Finland, and Sweden;

2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,

Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia;

2007: Bulgaria and Romania.

2013: Croatia 42

2. The Provisions to Become European Union Permanent Member

Being the EU membership is a matter of pride for most European countries.

Due to its success, the EU does selectively incorporate a new member into the

community. This way was conducted to maintain the unity and progress of the EU

itself. Thus, it was no wonder if the EU sets out a lot of requirements and

procedures for European countries seeking for the membership of the European

Union. The current legal framework that is applicable to the enlargement of the

41_{European Commission,}_{Conditions for Membership}_{, Last updated 8 November 2013. Available from:} http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/conditions-membership/index_en.htm, 3/4/2014

42_{European Commission,}_Enlargement_{, 27 March 2014.[ online database] available from:}

(32)

European Union is Maastricht Treaty 1992 article O replacing Article 237 of the

Treaty of Rome which defines the membership of the European Union as follows:

Any European State may apply to become a member of the Union. It shall

address its application to the council, which shall act unanimously after

consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European

Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members.

The condition of admission and the adjustment to the Treaties on which the Union

is founded which such admission entails shall be the subject of an agreement

between the member states and the applicant state. This agreement shall be

submitted for ratification by all the contracting states in accordance with their

respective constitutional requirements.43

This article explained about the procedure to become EU member and the

candidate countries are required to meet those procedure and the standard criteria

set by the EU to join them. The most important step for the country to be a full

member of EU is to meet the key criteria for accession which was named by

'Copenhagen Criteria' and they also have to fulfill the Acquis communautaire. The

Acquis Communautaire is the accumulated body of European Union (EU) law and

obligations from 1958 to the present day. It includes action that EU governments

take together in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, and under the

Common Foreign, and Security Policy. 44 The Acquis consists of 35 Chapters and

43 _{“The Maastricth Treaty, article O“, (Maastricth, February 1992), p. 49. Accessed from} http://www.eurotreaties.com/maastrichtec.pdf

(33)

the applicant countries must adopt, implement and enforce all the acquis to be

allowed to join the EU.45

In addition to the Acquis, the candidate countries need also to fulfill the

requirement named The Copenhagen Criteria that was mainly defined at the

European Council in Copenhagen in June, 1993. Countries wishing to join need to

have:

• Stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights

and respect for and protection of Minorities.

• A functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition

and market forces in the EU.

• The last, the ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of

membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary

union.46

45_{Chapters of the acquis,} http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/conditions-membership/chapters-of-the-acquis/index_en.htm

Chapter 1: Free movement of goods, 2: Freedom of movement for workers, 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services, 4: Free movement of capital, 5: Public procurement, 6: Company law, 7: Intellectual property law, 8: Competition policy, 9: Financial services, 10: Information society and media, 11: Agriculture and rural development, 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, 13: Fisheries, 14: Transport policy, 15: Energy, 16: Taxation, 17: Economic and monetary policy, 18: Statistics, 19: Social policy and employment, 20: Enterprise and industrial policy, 21: Trans-European networks, 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments, 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights, 24: Justice, freedom and security, 25: Science and research, 26: Education and culture, 27: Environment, 28: Consumer and health protection, 29: Customs union, 30: External relations, 31: Foreign, security and defence policy, 32: Financial control, 33: Financial and budgetary provisions, 34: Institutions, 35: Other issues

(34)

The process of joining the EU accession broadly consists of 3 stages:

1. Applying for the membership status and if it was approved by EU

Parliament it becomes an officialcandidate for membership.

2. The candidate moves on to formal membership negotiations, a process

that involves the adoption of established EU law, preparations to be in

a position to properly apply and enforce it and implementation of

judicial, administrative, economic and other reforms necessary for the

country to meet the conditions for joining, known as accession

criteria.

3. When the negotiations and accompanying reforms have been

completed to the satisfaction of both sides, the country can join the

EU.47

Those are the main requirements that must be met for a country that is

interested in becoming a full member of the European Union.

B. The Turkish Approach for EU Membership before PM Erdogan

Leadership

1. Turkish Application for European Union

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War 1 in 1918 led a very

large impact on Turkey. The state that was originally classified as having

reactionaries and conservatives politics had changed almost 360 degrees into a

very secular state and nationalist country. The secular state of Turkey was based

(35)

on the new constitution of Turkey in 1924 chapter 1 which is; first: Republic;

second: Nationalist; third: democracy; fourth: state; fifth: secularist; sixth:

revolutionist.48 The secular state led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk come through a

massive revolution especially in his transition to adopt democracy system and to

fix his economic problem. Under this circumstance, Turkish foreign policy was

prioritized to the Western aimed to gain economic and military aid and the

guidance for the reference to be democratic and secular state from the West.

The Turkish efforts to realize its dream to become a modern developed and

democratic country was manifested in various ways, one of which was by

applying for EU membership. What underlying Turkey to dare to take this step

was the feeling of Turkey as the part of Europe because Turkey has some

territorial part in that region. During the Cold War Turkey was part of the Western

alliance, defending freedom, democracy and human rights.49

After built the very close relation with the Western Europe in the political

field, Turkey started to complete the relationship in the economic field. Thus,

Turkey started with applying for associate membership in the European Economic

Community (EEC) in 1st of September 1959.50Turkey‟s efforts were rewarded by

signing the Association agreement ("Ankara Agreement") in 1st September 1963,

aiming at bringing Turkey into a customs union with the EEC and, ultimately,

membership. To implement this association agreement, the EEC provided Turkey

with loans worth 175 million ECU. The trade concessions which the EEC granted

48_{Ahla Aulia,}_{Diplomasi Turki Untuk Menjadi Anggota Uni Eropa (2007-2012)}_{, (Bachelor Thesis: Fisip UIN} Jakarta, 2013), p: 27

49_{Republic of Turkey Ministry for EU Affairs,}_{History of Turkey}_–_{EU Relations;}_{2011, [database online]} available at http://www.abgs.gov.tr/?p=111&l=2, accessed at 4/9/2014

(36)

to Turkey rose from 29% in 1963 to 42% in 1972.51_{These assistances made}

Turkey more confident to realize its desire to become a modern Western state,

finally On April 14 1987, Turkey formally applied for full membership of the

European Community which is known now as the European Union.52 This

decision was taken under the leadership of President Kenan Evran (1982-1989)

and initiated by Prime Minister Turgut Ozal.53

After the application was received, the council sent the application to the

Commission for its opinion. The Commission presented its opinion in 1989, which

basically underlined Turkey‟s eligibility for membership but mentioned that great

economic and social differences still exist between the two sides. The commission

also concluded that the conjectural environment is not suitable for the enlargement

of the Community.54 What means by the great economic and social differences here

are about Turkey‟s high rate of inflation, high growth rate of population, low level of

national income and per capita income level which was only 10% of the EU average,

share of agriculture within the economic activities, big share of agricultural

employment within the total working force etc. In addition, the political and

democratic problems in Turkey such as the minorities‟ problems and the Cyprus

dispute were also being high consideration of EU Commission.55 The commission

decided not to give any positive and negative answer to Turkey‟s application at that

moment and asked for deepening the economic relations with Turkey within the

51_{Republic of Turkey-Ministry of Foreign Affairs,}_{Turkey-EU Relation}_{, available from:} http://www.mfa.gov.tr/relations-between-turkey-and-the-european-union.en.mfa, 4/9/2014 52_{European Commission,}_{Enlargement: Turkey}_{, Last Updated: 6 November 2013.}

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey/index_en.htm 53_{Ahla Aulia,}_{Diplomasi Turki Untuk Menjadi Anggota Uni Eropa (2007-2012)}_{, p: 34} 54_{Republic of Turkey Ministry for EU Affairs,}_{History of Turkey}_–_{EU Relations;}₂₀₁₁

55_{Ilhan Ozturk dan Kamil Sertoglu, “Turkey and European Union Relations : Concept of the Custom Union”,}

(37)

content of “Matudes Report” which aimed at achieving the customs union with

Turkey by the end of 1995. On 1 January 1996 the Custom Union that was planned

in Ankara Agreement entered into force.56

This Custom Union Program brought many benefits for Turkish economy.

Trade figures after the completion of the Customs Union revealed that Turkey‟s

imports from the EU rose by 34.7% in 1996 compared to 1995 while the exports

rose by only 3.6%. The EU preserved as Turkey‟s biggest trading partner with a

52.9% share in Turkey‟s imports and 49.5% in exports. This profit continued in the

next two years that in 1997 Turkey's exports to the EU rose from 12.2 billion dollars

to 13.4 billion dollars in 1998 and imports from the EU increased from 24 billion

dollars to 24.8 billion dollars in the same period.57 Those achievements from Custom

Union opened greater opportunity for Turkey to be accepted as EU member.

Eventually, there was one more progress for Turkish accession that in 13th of

December 1997, Luxembourg Council summit declared that Turkey was eligible to

become the EU member. The Enlargement of the candidate status was officially

recognized for Turkey in European Council Summit Meeting in Helsinki on 11th of

December 1999.58

2. Another Effort of Turkey to Gain the Membership Status

Turkey has been striving very hard in the fight for full membership in the

European Union to show that Turkey was serious and deserve to be one of

permanent member of EU. One of its efforts was by adopting the "Harmonization

56_{Susanne Voigt,}_{The Customs Union Between Turkey and the EU: How Did it Affect Turkey?,}_(Durck Diplomica, Hamburg: 2008), p: 1

57_{Republic of Turkey Ministry for EU Affairs,}_{History of Turkey}_–_{EU Relations;}₂₀₁₁

(38)

Package" aimed to equalize the legal and the state system that was implemented in

EU member states. This Harmonization Package was first enforced on February

19, 2002 and there were 8 steps of this policy that has been enforced by the

Turkish Government before PM Erdogan period, there were:

1. The first harmonization package enacted a series of amendments to the Penal Code,

the Anti-terror Law, Law on the Establishment and Proceedings at the State

Security Courts and the Code of Criminal Procedure in the context of the expansion

of the freedom of expression, the reduction of pre-trial detention periods and the

safeguard provisions of the rights of prisoners.

2. The second package amended the Press Law, the Law on Political Parties, the Law

on Associations and the Law on Meetings and Demonstration Marches, the Law on

Civil Servants, the Act on the Organization, Duties and Competences of the

Gendarmerie and the Act on Provincial Administration

3. The third harmonization package abolished the death penalty, introduced provisions

to the relevant codes paving the way for retrial, extended the freedoms of

expression and association, addressed the legal conditions pertaining to real estate

held by community foundations, provided for changes in provisions on education

and broadcasting vis-à-vis cultural rights and continued to bring national legislation

into alignment with the constitutional amendments.

4. The fourth harmonization package engendered significant changes in the context of

the expansion of the freedom of association, deterrence against torture and

mistreatment, and safeguard provisions on the rights of prisoners.

5. The fifth harmonization package includes provisions on retrial and on the freedom

(39)

6. The sixth harmonization package introduced significant legal changes expanding

the freedom of expression, safeguard provisions on the rights of prisoners, religious

freedom, right to life and retrial

7. The seventh harmonization package introduced significant changes in the context

of the expansion of the freedom of expression, freedom of association, safeguard

provisions on the rights of prisoners, religious freedom, the rights of children,

cultural rights, civilian-military relations and the functionality of the executive.

8. The eighth Harmonization Package abolished the death penalty and replaced with

aggravated life sentence with the amendment of various laws.

The impact of the harmonization packages on life in Turkey has been

revolutionary. The harmonization packages changed existing legislation to

improve human rights, strengthen safeguards against torture and mistreatment,

and broadened freedom of expression. Today, Turkey is free, more self-confident,

more stable, more developed and more prestigious than it was before December

1999.59

3. Turkish Motives Behind Its Application

The unstable condition of Turkey after World War 1 forced this country to

find a way to survive. Right after the Collapse of Ottoman Empire, the economic,

political, socio-cultural, law, and other aspects were experiencing tremendous

collapse. So, no doubt that the Turkey's aim to join the European Union is to fix

the condition of the country that was once very unstable. From these condition can

(40)

be analyzed that the motive of Turkey to become a permanent member of the EU

tended to be economic and political goals.

a. Economy

In the post-World War 1 the Turkish economic condition was remained

weak.60 The four years of 1954 to 1958 were the years of increasing inflation,

continued balance-of-payments difficulties and other economic problems. Thus, in

the 1950s the government was aggressively intervening the domestic market and

seeking for foreign investment expecting to improve their economic condition.61

At the same time, the EEC (now EU) was starting to develop and enjoy its success

in economic field. Thus, there are many countries who want to be part of this

community, including Turkey which basically only has a little part in the

European region. This European Integration was chosen by Turkey because it was

expected to stimulate the growth of the Turkish economy as this community

stimulated economic growth of its member countries.

Turkey needs EEC to expand its market and foreign investment.62 The result

of exports and imports and foreign investment will greatly help Turkey to rebuild

its economy and if Turkey becomes a member of this community, Turkey will

certainly meet the easy way to borrow capital from the EEC, because one of the

EEC duty is to help its members building and advancing their economy. Thus, It

is quite obvious that Turkey could take the benefit of economic development if

the Turkey abled to become a member of the European Union at that time. So no

60_{Feroz Ahmad,}_{The making of Modern Turkey}_{, (Routledge, London, 1993), p: 95}

(41)

doubt if the economy is one of the priority goals of Turkey to join the European

Union.

b. Politics

In addition to economic reason, another very important thing to be noticed

by a country conducting the reformation is the reconstruction of the state system.

Here, Turkey that previously adopted the caliphate system had transitioned into a

liberal democratic state. This country had definitely needed the guidance to

implement the democratic system in the country and it has been very famous that

the USA and its Western ally, Europe, are the biggest democratic country in this

world. Then due to the proximity of the area and because their close relationship

in post-World War, Turkey considered that the most relevant partner to help

Turkish Government to conduct democracy is Europe because Turkey felt that it

was part of that territory. During its transition process into a democratic state, in

the late 1970s, Turkey was dominated by military rule, until September 1980 this

regime had restructured the constitution and intervened the system of Turkish

government. Until 1983, the new Turkish government could feel again their right

to establish parliamentary democracy of its country in November 1983.63 For this

reason, Turkey's the political elite and the business community expected the EU

aid to fix the democratic system after the Turkish military intervention.64 The

other Turkish interest in politics was to encourage the liberalization of the

63_{All About Turkey,}_{Military Intervention in Turkey}_{, 2014[online article], available from:} http://www.allaboutturkey.com/darbe.htm, accessed at 2/5/2014

64_{Ihsan Dagi, "Democratic Transition in Turkey, 1980-83: The Impact of European Diplomacy,"}_{Middle Eastern}

(42)

constitutional and legal system which would help Turkey to improve the

democracy in its country like the democracy of Europe.65

4. EU's Response Toward Turkey’s Application for EU Membership Status Before PM Erdogan Era

Turkey had started the struggle to pursue membership status of EU since 55

years ago, but the response of EU toward this accession was considered very slow

compared to the accession proses of other countries. This phenomenon was

actually seemed quite unfair for Turkey as his process of accession is the longest

process ever experienced by the candidate of full member of EU. The

postponement of EU toward Turkey‟s accession was based on several factors.

Among them are: economy, government system, Turkish Culture, and Its problem

with Greece. And here are the details:

1.Economic

Economic factor is one of the EU‟s considerations to include Turkey into

full membership of the European Union. Turkey had once unstable economy in

the early time of applying the full membership of EU. Turkish economy has not

been able to overcome its traditional problem of endemic instability and recurrent

crisis. The performance of the economy in that year was characterized by a

low-growth, high-inflation equilibrium.66 By the time, the GNI of Turkey was still far

below the European Union‟s, which was 1730 USD in 1987 compare to the EU

65_{Ilhan Ozturk and Kamil Sertoglu}_{, “}_{Turkey and European Union Relations: Concept of Customs Union”.}_{p: 7.} 66_{Ali Carkoglu and Barry Rubin,}_{Turkey and the European Union: Domestic Politics, Economic Integration and}

(43)

9667 USD in 1987.67 In this period also, Turkey was a country that once was still

highly depending its economy on the agriculture sector and was still not much

projecting the development of the industrial sector, in addition, 43% of the

Turkish population are poor farmers.68 These things showed that the Turkish

economy at this time was at the low level and still left behind compared to

European Union countries. It was true that EU would help in stabilizing the

economy of its member states, but there were the standards that were determined

by the European Union for the candidate countries to be accepted as a permanent

member of European Union, those standards are: at the macro level, the deficit of

candidate‟s government must not exceed 3 % from the GDP. Besides, the

government debt also should not exceed 60 % from the GDP, while the average

nominal long-term interest rates that were raised by candidate states should not

exceed 2 % of the average interest rate.69 Those standards have to be fulfilled by

all candidate countries so that the EU itself would not feel very hard to help the

member countries to stabilize their economy and so that the economic integration

in EU itself would always be kept in balance. Then the economic situation was

being one of the reason behind the postponement of Turkish accession in this

period.

2 . The Government System

There was nothing wrong with the Turkish government system, because

Turkey adopted a democratic system for its government after founding of the

secular Turkish state, but something wrong according to EU about Turkey here

67_Index _Mundi, _European _Union-GNI _per _capita_, _(online _database), _accessed _from: www.indexmundi.com/fact/european-union/gni-per-capita, 5/5/2014

(44)

was the implementation of democracy itself. Generally, democracy has meaning

of freedom which means that all elements of state and society have a voice in

policy making, of course the democracy itself has been distinguished with the

term "from the people, by the people, for the people". But what happened in the

government of Turkey can be said quite far from the real implementation of

democracy. Turkey was still dominated by a repressive military rule, the role of

the military was very dominating and authoritarian in policy making in Turkey,

this was a legacy of Mustafa Kemal At-Taturk‟s secular system. In the other side,

although Turkey declared itself as a democratic country, there were still

happening a lot of human rights violations in Turkey, the biggest example was

about the conflict with the Kurds.70 So from these facts the EU saw that Turkey

was not ready to join the European Union which notably uphold the democracy.

3 . Turkish Demography and Culture

Another major consideration of EU to include Turkey as a member was

Turkey's geographical location. According to the European Union, Turkey was

not part of them geographically, it was seen from the Turkish culture that was

very different with EU. In addition, Turkey with very huge population that was

the second-largest population after Germany in Europe with Muslim majority was

also being a strong reason of EU to suspend the membership of Turkey. The

demographic factor has been certainly worrying the EU about the impact brought

by Turkey to the EU Parliament's decision if Turkey were a permanent member of

EU, because the EU parliament‟s voice is determined by the vote of European