Khan 1
2016-02-0231
Aqila Zaman
SS-100 Sec: 14
17th December 2012
The Accession Of Turkey Into The European Union
It has been fifty years since Turkey first expressed interest in becoming a member of the European Union. The European Commission announced the "Wilder Europe" (VachudovaÃÂ) initiative in 2003, in which it stated: "EU has made a commitment to accepting anyone who fulfills the criteria" (VachudovaÃÂ). This criteria being the Copenhagen Criteria, which is key in allowing a safe passage for Turkey into the European Union. The European Union has added 15 members since the launch of the Wilder Initiation. This includes five countries, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who were communist till the late 1990's. So why cannot Turkey gain admission into the European Union? It has been almost 100 years since the abolishment of the Caliphate, and today Turkey has emerged into a prospering cosmopolitan democratic country, apt for a place among the European Union.
The official EU website states "Along with increasing member integration, the enlargement of the European Union has been one of the Unions main goals since its inception". (EUROPA) However, gaining admission into the European Union is a difficult task, as admission requires a unanimous vote from the European Union members. Turkey has been rejected twice from the European Union, in 1987 and 1997. So, is Turkey a credible candidate today? Although Turkey fails to meet certain human rights criteria of the European Union, faces political instability, and is still engaged in hostilities with Greece and Cyprus, however Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union because this would help Europe come out of the Euro Debt crisis it currently faces, it would improve relations between the West and the East, it would encourage cultural integration, and it would...