Questions for EU Commission President Prodi

The government, the Parliament, the media and the public are all expectantly waiting for Prodi’s positive messages. He is very likely to give messages which will win our hearts. However, nobody should expect him to say anything about the exact date that our country will be accepted into the Union. Not even Prodi is authorized to make such promises. It will be the EU leaders who will decide on Turkey’s status.

I believe that while in Ankara and Istanbul Prodi will make statements similar to ones he recently made in Brussels, which can be summed up like so:

1. Prodi said he applauded recent ‘huge progress’ by Turkey to enact democratization reforms but added, ‘We’ll also look at the question of the implementation of legislation on the ground.’

2. Legally speaking, the Cyprus issue isn’t one of the EU criteria for Turkey’s membership. However, if Turkey demonstrates its resolve to help resolve this issue, this would positively affect Brussels’ stance towards it.

3. Although the EU is generally positive about Turkey’s membership, some circles in the European public don’t want to admit Turkey due to its large population.

It’s a fact that while certain EU circles oppose Turkey’s membership, certain domestic circles don’t want our country to join its ranks either. The best thing for Prodi to do is try to persuade these people using convincing statements. Certain questions spring to mind: Will the EU wait for Ankara to fulfill all the Copenhagen criteria before giving us an exact date? What will happen to Turkey if the Cyprus issue isn’t resolved by May? Will Brussels have new demands of us on certain sensitive matters such as the Kurdish and Armenian issues? Is the EU pursuing a policy which is inclusive of Turkey, or exclusive?

I believe Prodi should answer these questions instead of mouthing pretty phrases to win over the hearts of the Turkish people.”