In the end of 2005 Turkey began its entry negotiations with the EU. Since then it has achieved great progress on its way to European integration, and it has implemented many reforms. However, Ankara has yet to achieve the status of candidate for membership. Two leading countries of the EU, Germany and France, are against Turkey joining the European club. Moreover, during her visit to Ankara German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Turkey a “privileged partnership.” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected this proposal immediately, stating that rules cannot be changed during the game. How will this influence Turkey’s relations with the EU? Why is it precisely now that Turkish authorities are trying to change the country’s constitution? How can the friendship between Ukraine and Turkey develop into partnership? How does the fact that both nations are gas transit countries influence their bilateral relations? These questions will be answered by Turkey’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine Ahmet MERIC in an exclusive interview for The Day.
“Being part of the European Union is a strategic objective of our foreign policy. But Turkey is a big country, and one that is not only European, but also Asian. Geography gives us the opportunity to pursue a multifaceted foreign policy. Our initiatives towards Middle-Eastern countries, Central Asia, the Far East, and South America have not changed. We are diversifying our policy. Yet our objective to be part of the European Union is in place.”
Why does your country want to join the EU? What European values or standards are most important for you?
“Being part of the EU is a contemporary project. The world community is restructuring itself into groups – not blocs in the sense of the Cold War, but rather economic groups. There are various economic groups in different regions of the world. Therefore we see that in order to enable our country to catch up with modern standards, it would be better for us to become part of the European Union. By becoming part of the EU we will be a part of a grand project. In fact, we are already in the European Union economically. We are in the European economic zone. We have a customs union with the EU. Our products are already considered to be European products. This is a significant advancement. Moreover, we have already become an acceding state, not a candidate. We are negotiating with the EU. We negotiated on 12 chapters, four chapters are left for negotiations, and 19 chapters are kept aside for political reasons. We observe reluctance on the part of certain states.”
Financial Times Deutschland reported that Europe is not ready for Turkey’s entry into the EU…
“Turkey’s ready. It has carried out reforms. Turkey has a strong economy, strong exports, a young and dynamic population, and a rapidly democratizing political system. Turkey is, in our opinion, ready to become part of the EU, but the EU is not ready for it. We see that the EU has certain problems, it does not have a clear-cut vision for the future. This is still under discussion.”
Mr. Ambassador, don’t you think that the leaders of Europe are the main problem?
“Governments are still discussing which way the European Union will go, whether it will be a very centralized state or a loose federation. There is still a conflict regarding visions of the EU. This is the main obstacle preventing Turkey from joining the European Union. Turkey is a big country, let’s face it, in terms of trade, GDP, and population. There are doubts about how to absorb Turkey once it becomes part of the EU, especially after the Lisbon Treaty. As for Ms. Merkel’s visit to Ankara, as well as our prime minister’s visit to Paris, we did not receive negative messages. The political leadership of those countries takes the view that it’s not the right time for taking in Turkey. But they are absolutely not closing the doors. The idea of a Privileged Partnership is getting weaker and weaker. Definitely we won’t accept it. On the other side, we see that the leaders themselves don’t know the concept of Privileged Partnership really means. When Ms. Merkel was in Ankara she never mentioned it. She said pacta sunt servanda (agreements should be met), she said “we are faithful to our engagements.” We are negotiating. These negotiations are open-ended negotiations. We will make the decision once they are completed.”
Let’s talk about constitutional problems in Turkey and the decision of the ruling party to implement changes to the constitution. The Economist asked whether this was “reformist zeal or a final assault on the secular establishment?” Which was it?
“The government set out to change part of our constitution. Our constitution dates back to 1982. Many years have passed after its entry into force. This constitution is the heritage of a military regime and Turkey has taken very important steps in the field of strengthening its democracy, ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms ever since then. The present constitution does not address the exigencies of our political system. Turkey needs new guidance for its future. We shall have the elections next year. We want to see that these elections are democratic, fair and transparent. So, this is the main motivation which determined the government to ensure some constitutional amendments. The government is about to submit the package to the parliament. The package has been prepared in consultation with the opposition, NGOs, and civil society. Of course, there is opposition on the part of opposition parties, some of the legal institutions are against it, and some parts of civil society are also against it. But the fact is that there is a democratic discussion taking place. And if it will not have sufficient support in parliament, the government intends to bring it to referendum. Thus, democracy will prevail. The final outcome will be determined democratically, by letting the people express their views. What are the elements of this constitution package? First of all, this package ensures that civil servants can sign collective contracts with the government; secondly, it will be difficult to shutdown political parties. They are the main actors of our democracy no matter what their opinions or programs are.”
But there should be certain limits, like in case of neo-Fascists.
“Of course, there are some limits. In my understanding, instigation to violence and acts of violence are the main limits which will trigger the process of dismantling a political party. Thirdly, the military will be subject to civilian courts in certain cases and the structure of the Constitutional Court will change, notably the system of appointing the members of the Constitutional Court. The structure of Supreme Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors is changing, as is the provisional article 15. This article prevents judicial processes against the people who made a military coup on September 12, 1980. This article will be removed from the constitution. All of these are the main elements of the constitutional package.”
But many people in the world consider the Turkish military to be the main pillar of secular Turkey.
“The secularism of Turkey is strong. Secularism is one of the main principles of the Turkish political system. It is not going to be removed or changed. In fact, the military plays an important role in our society, and they have played a significant role in the past. But at present, in every modern society, the military is subject to civilian authorities.”
Especially in Europe.
“In all Western countries. So, Turkey with this constitutional change and new legislation is going to ensure that the military will have its own proper place in our constitutional set-up.”
What role can Turkey play in the situation with Iran?
“Iran is an important neighbor for us. We have had peaceful relations with our neighbor for a long time. They date back to the depths of history. We want to establish a zone of peace and stability in our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is quite volatile, and we want to see that peace and stability are well established in this region, so that we can have fruitful economic relations with these countries and can all become prosperous.”
But how to influence the leaders of Iran? Mass media keeps asking the question, Is Turkey trying to sink Iran or save it?
“We have made it clear to the Iranian authorities: we don’t have any problems if Iran develops nuclear capacity for civilian use – this is the right of everybody – but we don’t want to see a nuclear Iran in our neighborhood. This message is very clear. And because of the intricacy of the situation, profiting from our privileged relations with this country, we are playing the role of moderator. We are not in the P5+1 process, we are outside. Yet, we have very strong and good communications with this group of countries. We are playing in our field and taking advantage of our special relationship. We are trying to be creative in ensuring that this problem is solved through peaceful means, through diplomacy. We don’t want to see any conflict in our neighborhood, as it would only make things worse in the Middle East. We want to see that this matter is solved amicably pretty soon. We don’t want to see more sanctions for Iran, because it negatively impacts the economies of all regional countries, including Turkey.”
Won’t Turkey support sanctions, should any be agreed upon by Obama and Medvedev?
“We are not for sanctions. They don’t work. We see that some countries who wholeheartedly support sanctions are breaking the rules of sanctions. So we don’t think that sanctions will help.”
How can Iran be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons?
“Diplomacy. Talk. This nuclear issue is not only technical, it is about the future of Iran. Iran needs security guaranties. This makes things quite complicated.”
Turkey and Ukraine are transit countries, competitors. How does this impact our bilateral relations?
“In which respect are we competitors?” (laughing)
The South Stream and Nabucco pipelines will go through Turkey, and those pipelines are alternative routes to Ukrainian gas pipelines…
“Let me make it clear. We are not competitors. We don’t see Ukraine as our competitor. We want to see Ukraine as our partner. We are two friendly neighboring countries. Especially since the change of government, we want to develop our friendship into a partnership. You have an infrastructure transporting mainly Russian natural gas to Western Europe. This pipeline network is an old network which should be renovated and replaced. It tests, for the time-being, a capacity of 80 billion cubic meters.”
Some officials say it is 120 billion cubic meters.
“The realistic capacity is 80 billion cubic meters. This is not enough for Europe.”
Why not invite Ukraine to participate in the South Stream or Nabucco projects?
“We are not yet involved in the South Stream. The South Stream is a Russian project. We allowed Russians to conduct a feasibility study on our special economic zone in the Black Sea. We have not yet given our consent to the Russians for the construction of the South Stream Project. First Russia should find enough gas to transfer. When I spoke with experts, they told me that this would be a very costly project. Most of this pipeline will go underneath the Black Sea, which is one of deepest seas in the world.”
What about Nabucco?
“Nabucco is a feasible project, Nabucco will take Caspian gas over Turkey to Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria – to Central Europe. However, Nabucco’s maximum capacity is 36 billion cubic meters. If your network is renovated you can have the capacity of 200 billion cubic meters, making your capacity bigger than Nabucco’s. Thus, Nabucco can be a complementary network to your system. We are not challenging you, we are inviting your people to join Nabucco. We are pursuing a very open policy. We know that nowadays no state can ensure energy security without diversifying its supply and transit resources.”
You said that both countries need to develop their partnership. What are the obstacles in developing strategic partnership and creating a free trade zone?
“We can come along and establish a common economic zone in our region. When we put together our GDPs, it gives an economic potential of 600 billion dollars. This is a huge sum. When we look at our economies, we see that they are complementary. We get raw materials and intermediary goods from Ukraine, use them as inputs in our industry, produce goods and sell them to markets. Our primary market is the EU. Thanks to our Customs Union Agreement, we are part of the EU market. So, if we remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers in our trade relations, our industrialists can look more seriously at Ukraine. Instead of diversifying their supply resources, they can focus more seriously on Ukraine, which is very close, and buy more from it.”
When can these barriers be removed, maybe when your Minister of Foreign Affairs comes to Ukraine?
“According to our expectations, we want to see that this project is put in place when my Prime Minister comes to visit Ukraine in July. This is our vision towards Ukraine. It beholds your authorities to make an assessment of this project. If there is a will in that direction, we should get together and start to discuss it seriously.”
Has the financial crisis had an impact on our economic relations?
“It had an effect, unfortunately. Our trade has fallen by half last year because of the economic crisis. Luckily Turkey has not been affected as strongly as Ukraine. Our financial sector is solid, but our industry has been affected. They lost their markets, so they had to cut down their production, as well as their supplies. This has affected our trade relations. But this year we will see some recovery. The negative outlook is rapidly disappearing. I think that this year things will be put together and we will have more satisfying economic cooperation.”
Can Euro-2012 help rebuild these relations? Will Turkey be involved in the construction of objects for Euro-2012?
“When I talk to my businessmen, they are interested indeed. But they have serious questions. In fact the past experience is not very good. There are real problems for our companies who have been involved in infrastructure projects. They are in arrears in getting their payments from the government and are using their own capital in order to continue their projects. There is the bureaucracy, and not enough resources to boost the process. In fact, our companies are very efficient: if they promise, they deliver on time. I’m sure about that. But because of the lack of resources and some bureaucratic difficulties they cannot proceed as they wish. This sets a negative example for others. So first of all the projects should be announced. What are the projects, what are the modes of financing those projects, would there be timely cash flows and how will the government finance them. Moreover, what are the timelines for these projects, when should they be completed? There are many unknowns for the time being.”
So you have not seen changes in business climate after presidential election in Ukraine and forming new government?
“I encourage my companies to have a strategic perspective at the Ukrainian market. But as I told you earlier, the experience of the existing companies is not very encouraging.”
It seems to me that it would be profitable for them to take part in the Euro projects, such as of building hotels, roads, stadium and many other objects?
“Naturally, they are business people, they want to see the advantages of getting involved in those projects – specifically the financing is very important for them.”
Would you share your general impression about Ukraine
“This is the first time that I have come to Ukraine. But my impression is that Ukraine is a very modern society. It has adopted democracy very rapidly. In terms of democratic experience it takes the lead among the former Soviet countries. You have developed strong institutions, your economy has a very strong potential. I see the future of Ukraine as very bright and promising.”
