5 Years Later, Turkey Still Not Full EU Member

Five years after it launched formal accession talks with the European Union, Turkey is lagging far behind fellow candidate Croatia – which has concluded two-thirds of the negotiations – though officials caution against comparing the two, reports the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

Turkey, with its 76.8 million people, and Croatia, a country of 4.4 million people, began membership negotiations with the European Union simultaneously on Oct. 3, 2005. Ankara has thus far opened just 13 out of 35 policy chapters, which all EU candidate nations must successfully negotiate prior to membership. Zagreb has meanwhile closed 22 out of 33 chapters and hopes to complete its talks in the first half of 2011 and join the bloc in 2012.

Turkey’s entry has been hindered by the slow pace of reforms and Ankara’s refusal to open its ports to shipping from EU member Greek Cyprus, among other issues. Turkish officials have openly complained about double standards, warning the EU not to let Greek Cyprus hijack Europe’s strategic interests. Turkey, a NATO member, is a key transit route for energy from Central Asia to Europe and its membership process provides a strong anchor for financial and political stability.

Analysts say Turkey’s accession will take years; even under the most optimistic scenario, it will not be able to join the European bloc before 2013. Stiff opposition from Germany and France has also been blamed for the slow pace of talks.

“Despite attempts to prevent the technical negotiating process through political games no other candidate country has ever encountered so far, we will not make concessions on our determination,” Egemen Bağış, Turkey’s chief negotiator for EU talks, said in a written message Sunday.