by cannedmoose » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:24 am
The sad thing is AA, that I don't think the Turkish government yet appreciate that the EU is more than just another international organisation, it's not like NATO or the Council of Europe which involve no sharing of sovereignty or significant delegation of national competencies, it goes way beyond this. Britain has not changed its stance, I'm sure the British government would accept Turkey's demand to make this statement, however, since July 1, the UK government is not just representing its own views, it must also represent the views of the other 24 member states, hence this apparent shift in policy.
In entering negotiations, Turkey is entering negotiations with all the members, therefore they will have to engage with the RoC. For Turkey to make a stand on this issue will only damage their position in the eyes of other European leaders, who will not understand why Turkey is willing to sacrifice its European future for the sake of a small, island at Europe's periphery. To be honest, I don't either. I'm guessing that you can't sweep away 40 years of foreign policy in 3 years and Erdogan and Gul are having problems selling this to the MFA, the military and other actors in the 'deep state'. Nonetheless, if they don't sign before October 3rd, the RoC government would have every right to intervene to stop negotiations proceeding. Let's hope they do.
