Turkey and the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Turkey and the European Union - Essay Example As a prerequisite for joining the union, a country should satisfy a basic condition of being able to prove that it is democratically stable and able to address the issues of humanitarian and international concerns. However, the public and media circles have been full of accusations labeled against turkey mostly because it is a predominantly Muslim nation. Most of the European Union nations have argued that the country is of an incompatible value system having been through a different timeline in its historical and religious history. As a result, the arguments against the nation’s membership to the EU have been based on a religious cum cultural compatibility with other states in the union. In other words, by being a country that has faced a lot of historical influence through Islamic dominance in its political and social structure, the opposing voices for the country’s inclusion in the EU state that this has worked against the country. The attachment of Islamic faith wit h terrorism has also been a factor in the determination of the country’s EU status at least according to some public observers. The fear of Islam among other faiths in the region has been high in the aftermath of terror attacks in major European cities; all connected to individuals or groups of Islamic background. It then follows that most people have wanted to associate the integration of the country into the union to increased terrorism in the region. Apart from the country’s religious heritage, its size has been a factor with many arguing that the country population which nears that of Germany; may be a hindrance to the region’s economic development. Other issues raised have attachment to the country’s poverty index, largely rural population and conflict prone boarders. Turkey has myriad of problems just like other European Union countries. Some of the problems are a result of the coup attempt in Cyprus. Muftuler and Guney (282) indicate some of the re asons why this conflict has a bearing on the determination of Turkey as a member of the EU. The origin of this conflict starts with the long followed conflict in Cyprus, which stems from the Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in the country. The country has been in the middle of the conflict due to its push to defend their counterparts who are settled in Cyprus. One factor that complicates this matter is that Greece is already a member of the EU yet it has been conflicting with the country concerning Cyprus. Turkey’s involvement in the conflict was as a result of the marginalization of the Turkish Cypriots even after the United Kingdom, Greece and the country signed a treaty of guarantee to Cyprus. This issue also highlights the problem of immigration. Migration has historically been attached to the enhancement of multiculturalism in regions such as Europe. However, Huysmans (752) highlights that a social realignment of this issue has resulted in ‘securitization of migra tion.’ Simply put, migration has been attached mostly to security issues rather than on the potential of interactions of the immigrants that can result into economic and social development. Most western nations have always majored on security and used this as a reason for restricting movement against the foundations of freedoms of association and movement.