Culture vs. EU: How Turkey is More Than Just a Political Problem

Turkish Accession to the EU: Cultural Perspectives

The issue of Turkey’s accession into the European Union is a very heated debate within the European community. The entry of Turkey raises many important existential issues about the union itself. In the process of debating Turkey’s membership, European Union politicians are forced to grapple with issues such as what the end-game of the European Union is, what it means to be European, and where to end enlargement. It is unsurprising that Turkey has seen resistance amongst the European community; Turkey’s population would guarantee it the second largest number of MEPs in the European Union and the removal of limitations on the freedom of movement of workers would ensure a large wave of Muslim entrants into France, a country which has already experienced problems with assimilating its Muslim minority. Where does enlargement end? If Turkey were to be admitted it is likely Morocco would object on the grounds of its being refused even consideration due to its geographic location. Turkey would be, by far, the most culturally alien member of the European Union. Before Turkey is allowed to enter, it must fulfill structural and social reforms as mandated by the Copenhagen Criteria, which run the gamut from economic liberalization requirements to social human’s rights issues. It is unlikely that Turkey will be allowed entry into the European Union. The issue of human rights is potentially the largest and most insurmountable challenge to Turkish entry to the European Union. The cultures of the Turkish Republic and European nations are and traditionally have been very different from one another. This seems like a transient issue but when given the nature of the human character, the cultural framework of the relationship becomes the most important factor in Turkish accession to the European Union. The issue of culture is so important because “the dramatic increase in member states demands the fundamental reordering of European Union institutions (Gerhards).”

The repercussions of enlargement have made nations and politicians within the European Union, notably France, opponents of the concept. Many have argued the Turkey is not “European” enough to be considered for membership and the cultural sentiment runs deep within European citizenry.

It should be noted at this point that the cultural boundaries of Europe are subjective at best and that any effort to define them would be inherently biased and impossible to prove on an empirical level, however, looking back over the history of human civilization it would be impossible to deny the psychological effects of culture, defined as “a system of values, divided jointly among actors, and used to interpret the world (Gerhards)”, and the way in which history has been shaped by the perceived culture of important Actors.