Fischer Sees Turkey’s Membership in EU as Part of War on Terror

As the EU gets ready to welcome 10 new members on May 1, Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, is pushing for Turkey to join the group sooner rather than later. "We have a new task that will shape this century: We have to give globalization political contours," he said. Bringing Turkey into the group, he says, will help deter Muslim terrorists. The German Finance Ministry, however, reported recently that Turkey's political reforms have proceeded too slowly to meet the EU's next progress report deadline, and that integrating the Muslim state would be a costly drain on the EU coffer. Meanwhile, Fischer suggested that although deeper democracy and reform is important for integrating Turkey into Europe, Germans needn't be concerned with direct democracy at home. "We don't have the tradition," Fischer said. "What would we have the people vote on? The European constitution, the Treaty of Nice? Who understands all of that?" – YaleGlobal

Fischer Sees Turkey's Membership in EU as Part of War on Terror

Foreign minister speaks out for EU constitution, against direct democracy
Sam Hapgood
Friday, March 5, 2004

Late last month, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was in Turkey with the message that the German government would throw its weight behind making the Muslim country a full member of the European Union. The interpretation of this gesture came over the weekend from Joschka Fischer, the foreign minister and one of the chancellor's closest confidants.

Integrating Turkey into the European Union, he said, is an answer to the threat posed by Muslim terrorists. Sept. 11, 2001, “was a declaration of war by a terrorist group whose world view is totalitarian. ...We have a new task that will shape this century: We have to give globalization political contours," Fischer told Berliner Zeitung.

For Fischer this means the ability to act as a continent at eye level with Russia, India, China and the United States. “We Europeans must ask ourselves whether we can grow close in order to increase our weight. You have to see the debate about Turkey in this light," he said.

At the same time, the finance ministry published a study concluding that Turkey is not ready to join the European Union. “Despite major reforms, it is unlikely that the country will be able to fulfill the required political criteria by the EU Commission's next progress report," the study says.

The report also says that Turkey would cost the European Union around EUR14 billion ($17 billion) without a major overhaul of Brussels' subsidy rules. A recent Emnid survey shows that 47 percent of Germans are for, and 47 percent against, Turkish accession, while other surveys have said that as much as 59 percent of the population is against letting the country become a full member.

Fischer said that integrating so many member states would only be possible with a European Union constitution. But although he believes that the majority of Germans are for the EU's political integration, he is against letting Germans vote on adopting the constitution. “We don't have the tradition. What would we have the people vote on? The European constitution, the Treaty of Nice? Who understands all of that?"

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2000. GmbH Publishing Group, Germany.