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Une approche très favorable à l'intégration de la Turquie dans l'UE, que je ne partage pas :
Compte-rendu du débat "Turkey's Political Future" (Davos, 27-01-2007)
Moderator Raghida Dergham, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent and Columnist, Al Hayat, USA, posed a series of rapid, timely questions to participants on the most important issues facing Turkey, such as its relationship with the United States, its regional relations, the question of accession to the European Union and the political dangers posed by the Sunni-Shia divide.
Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, spoke at length about the country’s economy. While there have been hiccups, Turkey has now experienced five years of excellent economic growth. The government’s fiscal constraint, in concert with the actions of Turkey’s independent Central Bank, has reined in inflation. And beyond the economy, Gül extolled Turkey’s newfound confidence as a responsible, important neighbour at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.
Turkey’s foreign policy is "almost completely the same" as the United States, said Gül. Foreign policy goals include a unified and stable Iraq, a non-nuclear Iran, a prosperous Europe and a democratic Middle East. Gül said a divided Iraq is unacceptable to Turkey. "We are not going to recognize an emerging country in the region," said Gül, who also said that he has conducted bilateral talks with all of Iraq’s adjacent countries, including Iran and Syria. "For the first time in our history, Turkey has good relations with all of her neighbours," he said.
Vali Nasr, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, USA, took issue with Gül’s assertion of identical Turkey and the United States foreign policies. "Turkish and American national interests are not always the same, especially when it comes to Iraq," Nasr said. Rather than assume the United States will drive Turkey’s regional foreign policy, Nasr asked, might not Turkey start to "push the US" to deploy Turkey’s vision for the region?
Ferit F. Sahenk, Chairman, Dogus Group, Turkey, a Young Global Leader, called 2007 an "investment year" for Turkey. Sahenk plans to make major investments in the country and predicted that Turkey’s economy will continue to perform very well. Sahenk highlighted his business links with the countries of the former Soviet Union as emblematic of Turkey’s emerging market reach, and he described his own company’s evolution from an unfocused manufacturing conglomerate to a streamlined service sector company as an example of how Turkey is moving up the value chain. Sahenk forecast lower interest rates in Turkey during the second half of 2007.
Ali Babacan, Minister of the Economy of Turkey, Chief Negotiator for the European Union, and a Young Global Leader, said the main pillars of Turkey’s economic programme are a floating exchange rate to absorb fast capital inflows and outflows, not restrictions, and the government’s budgetary discipline.
Addressing the question of Turkey’s accession to the EU, Victor Halberstadt, Professor of Public Economics, Leiden University, Netherlands, said "the question is not whether Turkey is ready for Europe but whether Europe is ready for Turkey. Most Europeans don’t know whether they want to be part of the EU, let alone whether they want Turkey to be a part of it." Halberstadt noted that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s address to the Annual Meeting 2007 covered "everything in the catalogue, from global warming to Africa to HIV, but did not once mention Turkey. I consider this a very good thing." Turkey’s bid to join the EU can only benefit from the perception that the country warrants little attention.
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