Why Turkey Should not Become a Member of the EU
The question of whether Turkey should join Europe has been a hot topic in various debates and debates. A Turkish minister suggested that Turkey would never be accepted to join the EU due to the opposition and negative prejudice from the current EU members (Yalta, 2013). Geographically, Turkey is classified as a European nation, but more than 90 per cent of its territory is in Asia. The EU would be unwilling to share borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria. With the country’s population estimated to reach close to 90 million by the year 2050, Turkey might dominate the EU (Redmond, 2007).
According to Gerhards and Hans (2011), the political maturity of the Turkey is inadequate. The country lack a mature European model of democracy and political leadership. The political leadership is characterized with conflicts and struggle between extreme military practices and Islamists. There are continuous reports of journalists jailed for excising their freedom of speech. Amnesty International reported there was rampant torture, freedom of speech violations, women oppression, unfair trials and discrimination of the minority rights and privileges in Turkey (Redmond, 2007). The public opinion in the European Union could not support the political decisions made by Turkey.
Economically, Turkey has a considerably lower GDP per capita, €19,556, compared to the EU average of €29,505.85 (The World Bank, 2013). The entry of the Turkey in the EU could make them parasites in the EU finances. Oğuzlu (2012) found out that the Turkey’s wealth is unequally distributed due to the country’s failure to implement necessary economic reforms and growth. Apart from all, the cultural and historic values of Turkey are strongly founded in the Middle East and Asia. Since, it did not experience the Europeans cooperation and harmony enjoyed in the Second World War. It is also dominated by Muslim religion that makes it different from other European nations. Therefore, Turkey should not focus his efforts on becoming an EU member.
References
The World Bank. World Development Indicators Database. Turkey. Retrieved from http://databank.worldbank.org/data/wb/id/8b26dcff
Gerhards, J., & Hans, S. (2011). Why not Turkey? Attitudes towards Turkish membership in the EU among citizens in 27 European countries. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 49(4), 741-766.
Oğuzlu, H. T. (2012). Turkey and the European Union: Europeanization without membership. Turkish Studies, 13(2), 229-243.
Redmond, J. (2007). Turkey and the European Union: Troubled European or European trouble?. International Affairs, 83(2), 305-317.
Yalta, S. A. (2013, Sept 21). Turkey ‘will probably never be EU member.‘The Telegraph. Web. 27th May 2015. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/10325218/Turkey-will-probably-never-be-EU-member.html.