Mediterranean Programme - [03/26/2008]

Turkey and Europe's foreign policy: convergence with reservations

On 19 March, Vienna was the venue for a seminar titled “How common is the EU's common security and foreign policy?” The main objective of the seminar, which was organised by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP), was to assess the degree of convergence between the policies of Turkey and the EU, particularly in the framework of the United Nations and in relation with the Middle East, the Caucasus and Energy.

Eduard Soler, Coordinator of the CIDOB Foundation's Mediterranean Programme, took part in the seminar, in which he spoke on the evolution of Turkey's policy toward the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Though he highlighted the fact that Turkey's intervention in northern Iraq clashes with the EU's priorities and principles, Soler also pointed to a number of areas in which a growing convergence can be observed between Turkey and the EU. For example, he cited Turkey's stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and its involvement in the United Nations mission in the Lebanon (FINUL). He also stressed that although the controversial contacts between Ankara and Hamas clash, in principle, with the EU's official position, he added that as there is a need to maintain channels of communication with the aforementioned group, such contacts may turn out to play a complementary role for Europe's foreign policy.

In the final part of his address, Soler also threw out a few ideas to speed up the convergence between Turkish and European foreign policy on the Mediterranean and Middle East. These included: highlighting Turkey's involvement in a strengthened Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the need to increase cooperation in ESPD missions, the suggestion that Turkey should join forces with Italy, Spain and France to prevent a social and political confrontation in the Lebanon and the possibility that Turkey should become associated in some way with the EU in forums, such as that of Iraq's neighbouring countries.

The seminar featured the participation of a number of Austrian and Turkish diplomatic representatives, members of TESEV and OIIP, as well as leading experts such as William Hale, a lecturer at Sabanci University in Istanbul and Dorothée Schmid, a researcher with IFRI in Paris. After a day of debates and discussion, the participants agreed that convergence was taking place between Turkey and the EU, but that Turkey still had a long way to go, especially in the area of Human Rights.

It was stressed that within the framework of the UN and the OSCE, greater efforts could be made to involve the candidate countries more in terms of defining a common stance for the EU. The conclusion was also drawn that Turkey's successful application for membership did not depend principally on the degree of convergence in foreign policy, but on many other matters that are often rooted in the EU Member States’ domestic policies. Finally, it was noted that a satisfactory resolution of the division of Cyprus would not only serve to eliminate one of the main obstacles to Turkey's membership, but that it could also help Turkey to play a more constructive role in the area of foreign policy.

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