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Bibliographic data

Riedel, Hartwig; Müller, Erik: Politik und Co., Politik-Wirtschaft für das Gymnasium. Vol. 2. C. C. Buchner Verlag, 1st ed. [1. Aufl.], 2013, 241, 248.

"Should Turkey be part of the EU?" (2013)


[p. 241]

M 8 Discussed controversially: Should Turkey be part of the EU?

Today, Turkey is as rich as Portugal at the time of its accession to the EU.

In ten years Turkey will have 80 million inhabitants and therefore no less than Germany has. Or as many as the ten new EU member states currently have. Turkey is too big. In the medium run it would be the EU’s most populous country and for that reason have the most votes.

Turkey does not belong to Europe. Turkey is an Islamic country and its accession could endanger the European identity. Europe ends at the Bosporus. With the EU accession of Turkey, Iran and Iraq would be our direct neighbours.

An accession of Turkey would stabilise the political system, democracy and economic reforms in Turkey.

Turkey is underdeveloped economically. We can’t afford its membership. With only a sixth of Germany’s economic power, Turkey is so poor that every year between 16.5 and 27.5 billion Euros would have to flow to Turkey, according to the calculations of the European Commission.

A quick accession of Turkey would build a bridge between Christian influenced Europe and the Islamic Middle East. A democratic and constitutional Turkey will also gain great appeal as a model for the Islamic World. We have promised accession to Turkey since 1963 and must stay believable.

With Turkey as a regional power in the Middle East and south-western Asia, Europe would become a “global player” and could confront the United States in the Islamic world with its own security politics.

[...]

[p. 248]

The Enlargement of the EU

European unification appealed greatly to the European states from the beginning, leading to 27 additional states having found their place in the European house today, following the six original founding states. Every candidate country has to share the basic ideals of the EU and fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. For more than 40 years, Turks have hoped for accession to the European Union. In October 2005, the EU officially started accession negotiations with Turkey. However, the accession of Turkey to the EU is assessed controversially. The opponents see an incompatibility of Islamic and Christian culture, high costs of economic integration and a problem for security strategic reasons. The supporters see a chance for the political integration of different cultures, the possibility to counterbalance economic imbalances in Europe and the extension of the EU peace model to an Islamic influenced country.

[...]

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