Truly historic day for EU and Turkey

A deal between the European Union and Turkey over the start of the latter's EU membership talks has been reached despite Ankara's initial refusal to immediately recognise (Greek Cypriot) Cyprus.

The European leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday agreed to open EU membership talks with Turkey on October 3, 2005 after the Muslim nation made clear its intention to extend its Association Agreement with the EU to the 10 new member states - which in fact means the de facto recognition of Cyprus.

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyin Erdogan initially objected to the EU's demand over Cyprus, thus jeopardising its chance to join the EU. However, the EU then gave Turkey more time to consider this offer, but still insisted that recognition of Cyprus was a pre-condition to the opening of accession negotiations.

After some hesitation and claims that the EU's offer was "disappointing" , Turkey agreed to the EU's demands but was spared the embarassment of having to immediately extend its Association Agreement to the 10 new member states. It said it would do so in due course, and that was good enough for the EU.

The EU's offer to open membership negotiations with Turkey is indeed a historic, strategic decision, one which will have major long-term, and in my opinion, positive, implications for Europe.

It was not an easy decision to take: public opinion in Europe is sharply divided over the issue, many centre-right political parties are openly hostile to Turkey's admission and a number of countries, such as Austria, Germany, France and The Netherlands, are nervous about admitting this populous, poor and Muslim country to Europe's club.

Once again, however, the EU has risen to the occasion, showed that it has the political will to deal with a huge challenge and looked to the long-term when considering the pros and cons of Turkish membership.

Turkey has been waiting patiently for EU membership since 1963 and public opinion in the country is overwhelmingly in favour of joining Europe. It has been a loyal member of NATO throughout the post-war period and during the Cold War it was a bulwark against Communism and contributed to Europe's security and stability.

In 1999 at the Helsinki EU summit, after a long wait, Turkey was officially declared an EU candidate country - although there was still no indication of when accession negotiations were to start. It was, however, an important achievement for Turkey and once this commitment was given by Europe, there could be no turning back.

Last October the European Commission published a report on Turkey's EU bid and suggested that accession negotiations should open, under certain conditions. On Tuesday the European Parliament voted, with a comfortable majority, for a non-binding but nevertheless important resolution that called on EU leaders to initiate membership negotiations with Ankara, and now the EU summit has given a clear signal to Turkey that such talks will begin next year.

The potential geo-political benefits of Turkey's EU membership are indeed enormous. Turkey has always played an important role in the international arena, now it will become an even more important player - and this will benefit Europe.

As an EU member, Turkey will no doubt play a full role in the bloc's common security and foreign policy, which is in Europe's interest. Turkey is a Muslim, secular, democracy - although it still has to improve its human rights record and its treatment of minorities - and its successful integration into Europe will send the right message to the entire Muslim world, namely that Islam and democracy are not incompatible.

Furthermore, having Turkey in the EU will serve as a bridge to the Islamic world and help avoid a 'clash of civilisations' between Islam and Christianity. It is no wonder, therefore, that Turkey has often been targetted by Islamic terrorists. Turkey represents exactly what Al-Qaeda despises: secularism, democracy and reconciliation and friendship with the Christian world. It is therefore crucial to have Turkey firmly integrated into Europe, and EU leaders have understood this.

Turkey's accession to the EU is also in Europe's long-term economic interest. It is true that Turkey is still a poor country compared to the rest of Europe and that the cost of Turkish membership, in terms of EU aid, will be high. This is a huge challenge that will naturally have to be overcome. Turkey must be reasonable in its demands, taking care not to unduly stretch the EU's coffers to the limit and being aware that European public opinion will not accept an exaggerated amount of their tax money pouring into Ankara.

On the other hand, Turkey is a fast-growing economy which will no doubt continue to grow as the country heads towards Europe, and this can only be beneficial for the whole of Europe. I do not believe the scaremongering originating in some European quarters that the Turks will flood Europe's labour markets once the country joins the EU.

The same was said about Greek, Spanish and Portuguese workers when their country joined the bloc, but this did not materialise. On the contrary, EU membership created jobs in the new member states and the same will happen in Turkey.

Of course, Turkey's membership talks will probably last between 10 and 15 years because there is certainly a lot of work to be done, both economically and politically, and as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told the press in Brussels on Thursday, "the ball is now in Turkey's court". However, I have always argued that Turkey's membership negotiations will act as a catalyst for the country's modernisation and reform, which is why I have always been in favour of the country joining the EU.

Turkey must therefore continue along its path of reform and failure to do so will mean a suspension of its EU accession negotiations, as EU leaders have made amply clear. This is only right, and while Turkey has implemented plenty of political reforms, it still has some way to go before it fully adheres to European standards.

There must be full religious freedom, respect and equal treatment for minorities and women, an accountable police force, less of a role for the armed forces in Turkish politics and the complete elimination of torture in the country's prisons. Positive change has already come about and this change must continue.

Turkey's EU negotiations will be long and drawn out and compromises will have to be made by both sides. In the end, however, I have no doubt at all that Turkey's membership will be beneficial to both Europe and Turkey.