GW, JC, and Turkey
By Good post at Crooked Timber about Turkish prospects in the EU. Here’s Chirac letting GW have it for meddling in European affairs by arguing that Turkey should be a member. And here’s Digby being, I think, a bit unfair.
There are a few reasons why some EU member states don’t want let Turkey in. Turkish human rights policy still leaves something to be desired. The Turkish economy is much weaker than the economies of most of Europe, including the new Eastern European entries. Allowing Turkish would completely tear the Common Agricultural Policy to shreds, as virtually all the CAP money would start going to Turkey.
Those things are important, but let’s get real. The biggest reason the Europeans don’t want to let the Turks in is because they aren’t white enough, and they aren’t Christian enough. Europeans worry that Turkish entry will destroy the “European” character of the EU. What this means in real-speak is that most Europeans don’t care for the Turkish districts in their own cities, and don’t want to see more Turks on their streets. Straightforward, old fashioned racism.
Bush is now pushing the EU to approve the Turkish application. I’m sure that GW’s motives in this aren’t altruistic; it’s a convenient club to beat the French with, it helps mend fences with Turkey, and it would help Muslim-Christian relations without any effort on the part of the US. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s probably right, though. Digby is troubled by his method,
Who the hell do these people think they are? It’s not that we have no right to politely advocate for Turkey being admitted into the EU if we choose. It’s that we don’t do it by publicly insulting the EU for our own purposes. Where did these people learn their manners, Attica?
but I’m not. European sensibilities in this area should be offended. Turkey has been an integral part of the Western Alliance for fifty years, and a critical member of the European world system for some 600. It would be nice if the Europeans treated the Turks with some courtesy, and if they would do so without being publicly denounced by GW, but I don’t see it happening.