Is Turkey a suitable member for the European Union? What are the main concerns?
Introduction
The enlargement process of the European Union (EU) is one of the highly discussed topics in Europe. Recently Bulgaria and Romania entered the EU which was a historic achievement: It was the reunification of Western and Eastern Europe (European Commission, 2007).
So far, the past enlargements have been a great success and are confirming “that a gradual and carefully managed policy creates a win-win situation for both existing members [of the EU] and countries that are joining. Integration of new members into the EU expands and strengthens the area of peace, stability, and democracy in Europe; it stimulates economic growth and re-enforces the role and influence of the European Union in the world” (European Commission, 2007, para. 2). Following the aforementioned argumentation it means, the more countries are integrated into the EU, the better it is. But is that an argument to open the EUs borders to all countries in and close to Europe?
This question is not easy to answer, which the case about Turkey’s application to join the EU shows. Turkey has knocked on the EUs door for almost fifty years now (Kaloudis, 2007) without getting a clear ´yes` or ´no`. But how much longer will Turkey rest on Europe’s doorstep (Kaloudis, 2007)? If the decision is not being made in the near future, a strategic and economic ally of the west might drift away (Kaloudis, 2007). When looking at this topic the continents oldest and most perplexing question arises: whether Turkey is really a part of Europe and whether it is a suitable member for the European Union (Roy, 2004)?
To shed light on the essays` topic, important basic knowledge and necessary background information abo ...