European Forum

On September 17th, Turkish Vice Prime Minister Besir Atalay has announced that Turkey will “freeze” relations with the European Union (EU) when Cyprus will take over the rotating presidency in July 2012. “If peace negotiations on the island are not conclusive and the EU gives its rotating presidency to southern Cyprus, the real crisis will be between Turkey and the EU. We will then freeze our relations with the EU… Our relations with the EU will come to a sudden halt,” Atalay remarked during a visit of the northern half of the disputed Mediterranean island that is under de facto Turkish rule.

 

Turkey has been a candidate country since 1999 and has had an association agreement with the EU since 1963. However, many critics within the EU fear that the Union is not ready for Turkey’s accession and vice versa that Turkey is not ready for accession to the EU. Proponents of the country’s membership – such as the United Kingdom and Sweden - maintain that an enlargement towards the Middle East will increase the influence of the EU in the region, which will add to the strategic security of the Union.

 

Turkey’s relationship with the EU has always been troubled by the “Cypriot question”. The island was invaded by Turkish troops in 1974 after the Greek junta had backed a coup d’état. Cyprus has been divided between a southern, Greek, half and a northern, Turkish, half ever since. Turkey does not recognize the statehood of Southern Cyprus, whereas the rest of the international community does recognize Southern Cyprus, but does not recognize Northern Cyprus. Turkey is required to open its sea- and airports to EU ships and planes on the basis of trade agreements with the 27-nation bloc, but refuses Southern Cypriotic ships, a move which has already infuriated bureaucrats in Brussels in 2009 and has prompted them to halt several parts of the accession negotiations.

The presidency of the EU means in practice chairmanship over the council of ministers and chairmanship over the European Council. The position automatically rotates every half year on an alphabetical basis. The position is highly coveted by the member states because it gives countries the possibility to set the agenda in the councils, a power many countries use to their advantage. However, it also costs a lot of manpower, especially in the enlarged EU. For some of the smaller and poorer countries the pressure can be very high, especially in times of crisis with council meetings on an almost daily basis.

 

Sources: B92, CNN, NRC, Image