BAGIS'S ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON THE PARLIAMENT MAGAZINE

The Parliament Magazine published an article of Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, where he argued Turkey represents stability and economic growth in turbulent times and the EU needs it more than ever.

In the article Bagis wrote the following:

Power balances in the world order are shifting more rapidly and obviously than ever. It seems that some new abbreviations will be added next to Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and Civets (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa) soon, by the emergence of new regional powers that constitute strong alternatives to the already established power balances.

Being located in one of the world’s most dynamic and volatile regions, Turkey’s importance has been growing. Despite the entire turbulent and chaotic environment in its surroundings, Turkey managed to emerge as one of the most successful actors from the crisis. Contrary to its European neighbours, the Turkish economy broke growth records. Turkey became the fastest growing country in Europe and the second fastest in the world. Needless to say, this spectacular economic performance was the end-result of a series of successful policy initiatives.

Meanwhile, Turkey emerged as a source of inspiration for the Arab countries during the Arab spring. Indeed, Turkey is the country whose support and intimacy is mostly looked for in the streets welcoming the spring. Almost all experts on the Middle East agree on Turkey’s potential to promote democracy, human rights, and rule of law in this region. As a result, nowadays, Turkey has taken its place among the countries whose name was pronounced the most as a source of inspiration for these countries. Turkey is a secular and democratic republic which has an overwhelmingly Muslim population and a dynamic market economy. Turkey is the only country which is a member of both the Organisation for Islamic Conference and Nato, and pursuing accession negotiations with the EU.

Turkey’s EU membership process attracts special attention in Middle Eastern countries. Turkey’s EU vocation is closely followed by hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East, in the Arab world and even in those countries that feel marginalised by the western world. Turkey’s process is more than a “membership issue”. It has a symbolic meaning covering grand narratives of cultures, values, and civilisations, among others.

The unfortunate timing of the economic crisis, during the most turbulent era of the Middle East, has taken away EU’s chance to have a strong say over the destiny of the region. In such turbulent water, Turkey is standing secure, with its strong financial structure, well-established democratic institutions, growing economy, and proactive foreign policy. It is apparent that, for the EU to become a soft-power that is reaching the hearts and minds of millions of Arabs in the region, the EU needs Turkey more than ever. Our European friends can retrieve the international effectiveness they have dramatically lost only by having Turkey as a member of the EU that would be a win-win situation for both parties.

Kaynak: http://www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/turkey-egemen-bagis/