Wednesday, 28 February 2007
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU of 2057 would have missed a "tremendous opportunity" had Turkey been rejected from the enlargement process.
Speaking at the Bertelsmann Foundation in Berlin, Rehn used a non-conventional method to force the Europeans think about the future of the EU by having an imaginary view of 2057. In 2057, the first centennial of the EU, Rehn assumes Turkey and the Balkan countries have all become full members of the club. Heeding the talk of imaginary historians, Rehn argues that things could have easily gone wrong. Had the EU rejected further enlargement and turned its back on Turkey and the Balkans, Rehn thinks that would amount to not only "a tremendous missed opportunity" but also it would have made EU a lesser player on the world stage.
Rehn's "crystal ball" method comes at a time when Turkey and the EU are experiencing problems with the accession process. The EU decided to suspend eight chapters of the total 35 last December with Turkey as Ankara refused to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Ankara says the ports will be opened when the EU keeps its promise to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
Speaking of historians in 2057, Rehn said: "The EU could have rejected further enlargement and turned its back on Turkey and the Balkans, failing to use its transformative power. That would have caused instability and set back the region immensely. It would have been a tremendous missed opportunity. It would have made the EU a lesser player on the world stage."
The enlargement commissioner is continuing his hard work to convince both the EU leaders and the public opinion to continue with the process. While Rehn asserts enlargement has brought and will bring many benefits to the club, popular leaders like Nicholas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany want to slow down the pace of admitting new countries and offer Turkey privileged partnership, not full membership.
28.02.2007
Zaman
