In my opinion it shouldn't. In fact I think it should give up some of its European, such as Istanbul and the lands West of it. Most of its land is in the Middle East and it would be better if they were to join the Middle Eastern or West Asian Union if such a union takes place. I don't even think it should be a candidate.
What do you think?
Well your argument suggests that the EU is a geographical entity, which is paradoxical as it is. First of all EU is not just a land mass but a union formed by "ideas" like equality, freedom, human rights and many others as stated in the EU constitution.
But let us assume that EU is a geographical union:
1.Where does it start and where does it end? If it ends in Thrace and Istanbul, why Cyprus is in the EU? Cyprus is located in the easten meditterranean region. It's a couple hundred miles away from Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt. So what makes Cyprus in Europe? And what doesn't make Turquie in Europe while 70% of her land mass is more westward than Cyprus is?
2.Again according to your suggestion, UK, Ireland and Iceland are not in the European continent.
3.The idea of a unified Europe has its basis in Ancient Greek and Roman Empire which includes Anatolia, Middle-East and North Africa. Isn't Roman Empire european enough?
4.Another attempt to unify Europe was Ottoman Empire (Which is the descendant of Roman and Byzantine Empires) Her 2 capitals (Adrianopolis and Constantinopolis) were in Europe and her borders started from Wien and included today's Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Romania,Ukraine, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Poland (as an ally), Greece, Makedonia and Albania most of which are EU countries.
5.You stated that the majority of Turquie's lands are in Asia. That's not entirely true. Because Anatolia is a peninsula and it forms a bridge that connects Europe to Asia.
6.Turquie's lands in Europe is much larger than many countries in Europe.
Blah blah blah...
But of course we all know that geographical location has nothing to do with the common tendency of rejecting Turquie's admission to EU.
For all I know, if Turquie was located in Switzerland it would still be rejected by the average people in the EU.
Because the real cause of rejection lies beneath the misbelief that "Turks are the others" This idea was planted by the Roman Church after the collapse of the Roman Empire, to unify the european kingdoms under the Church's rule. Infact, Turks were not the enemy of Christianity. Even the Mehmet the conqueror of Istanbul was a son of an Orthodox Queen of ours as well as almost all other Ottoman sultans. And yes Turks commited acts of violence not only against christians but also muslims. Yet it was nothing when compared to secterian violence commited by european christians to other christians. This is basic European History 101.
The church used this propaganda to recruit ordinary farmers as soldiers to fight against "the enemies of God". So it was all political. Typical use of religion to decieve people.
But today that status quo has changed. Today's Turquie is the ally of EU and, her soldiers fighted side by side with Western soldiers in Korea, Balkans, Afghanistan, Somalia etc. Also Turquie fights Islamic fundamentalists everywhere in the globe efficiently. And she is doing that not because of political engagements (like Pakistan) but because she is a secular, constitutional, democratic republic.
Also, unlike Germany, japan and Iraq, Turquie has chosen the path of democracy by herself with a revolution and not pressed or forced to do so. Women rights were given in 1920's, long before the U.S. and many european countries.
Also I'm not naive and I know that my country has a lot of democratic issues to be resolved such as the Kurdish identity and reinforcing civil society. Call me an optimist, but I believe that such issues will be resolved in a couple of years. Never forget: This nation has changed its alphabet, revolutionized the society, wiped out the Sharia, found the democratic republic in less than 10 years at the begining of the last century. And I myself am the product of that revolution. I studied in Turkish state schools where I learned ancient Greek philosophy, Magna Carta, tunes of Bach, English, Spanish and other languages and I grew up in the streets of Istanbul. I represent the average Turkish citizen (with a little more effort
And I'm asking to my fellow european friends: Do you prefer to sustain the hostility of the medieval times, pushing Turquie away from Europe to Islam world and create an anthagonist and a powerful, potential threat? or Do you prefer to encourage a more democratic country which will strenghten the EU and show the world that EU is not a christian club or a bunch of pious nationalists?
Please answer..
Kivanch K
Musician
Istanbul, TR