Integrating Turkey into the European Union: a Necessity

A year and a half after the beginning of the “Arab Spring” and with the regional context in the Mediterranean in a very uncertain state (Syria, Egypt and the Arab-Israeli conflict etc.), the atypical profile of Turkey is regularly put forward either as a model or a possible point of leverage. Some observers are, in fact, arguing strongly for the European Union to review its position with regard to that country’s membership of the Union at this moment.

In this forum article, Pierre Chabal, who shares this position in favour Turkish EU entry, rehearses the arguments in its favour. He particularly stresses the change in geostrategic context (the Cold War has ended and east, central and south Asia are all advancing) – and also in economic environment (Turkey has made significant efforts to meet Community demands and represents, moreover, a strategic crossroads on the energy supply-route to Europe). He also emphasizes the degree to which Turkey is now an essential part of both Europe’s security architecture and regional stability, and he warns the Union against making the country wait too long for membership at a time when there are other prospective alliances on Turkey’s horizon and it is being actively courted by the countries of Asia, China foremost among them. In such a context, Turkish integration is, in his view, no longer an option but a necessity.