The CHP’s EU opening

This is why we feel that CHP Leader Deniz Baykal’s visit to Brussels this week, five years late though it may be, is a positive development. We also believe that the messages he gave to his interlocutors there were useful, as there is a belief that the CHP is more of a hindrance when it comes to Turkey’s bid for membership than a help. Â

As it is, diplomatic sources in Ankara inform us that EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosso, as well as Commissioner for Enlargement Ollie Rehn, where highly pleased to see Mr. Baykal in Brussels and to hold talks with him on current issues of interest to both sides.

Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent visit, after a four-year absence, to Brussels, when he was accompanied not just by Foreign Minister Babacan, but also by the newly appointed Chief EU Negotiator, State Minister Egemen Bagis, had gone a long way in dispelling some doubts in Europe as to whether Ankara was truly serious about its EU perspective.

Even if he may have complained in Brussels that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is distancing Turkey from the West, a contention that is open to debate, Mr. Baykal’s visit to Brussels has also contributed to reinforcing confidence on the EU side.

Put briefly, the fact that the EU perspective has become valuable for politicians again, whether they are in power or in the opposition, is a welcome development for those in Europe who are concerned with and supportive of Turkey’s membership bid.

EU officials make no secret of the fact that if Turkey can secure a national consensus on its membership bid, this will strengthen not only its hand in Brussels, but also those who are supportive of her EU perspective in Europe.

This is why we believe that the Nationalist Action Party, or MHP, should also enter the equation. MHP Leader Devlet Bahceli is not someone you see too often outside of Turkey. But he has also said in the past Ñ despite his party’s ultra-nationalist outlook Ñ that EU membership is a "state project," implying indirectly that they are not against the EU in principle.

Supporters of the MHP have to understand that for their party to start concerning itself with the EU does not mean that you have to be pro-EU.

A party can be concerned with the topic and be anti-EU at the same time. There are parties that are doing precisely this in Europe today and have even sent members to the European Parliament.

Put another way the MHP should not look on any contact with the EU as anathema. Quite the opposite, it should see these contacts as a means to explain to European officials the topics that it is sensitive about.

We happen to believe that the bottom line is that EU membership is good for Turkey, and that the standards that come with the legal infrastructure adopted as a result of this perspective will raise standards in this country.

The average Turk must be made to understand that EU membership does not imply that we become like the French or the Germans, or anyone else for that matter. Turkey has a long history behind it, a strong sense of its identity and a vast culture to complement this. It is clear that Turkey has much to contribute to Europe with its culture and this is already seen to be happening today.

We also happen to believe rather strongly that the EU provides an anchor for Turkey’s democratic and secular system, seeing as the basic principles that run this system originate from Europe. Put another way, a Turkey that turns its back on Europe is unlikely to be able to maintain its democracy and secularism in the long run, as such a turning-back will make it harder to maintain European values.

This is where the CHP’s "EU opening" can be of great value, seeing as this party is in a position to explain to the public just what Turkey’s EU perspective means, and thus dispel some mistaken notions that it may have contributed to in the past.

Therefore, while it is easy to be cynical about Mr. Baykal’s trip to Brussels, as we said at the outset, we prefer to pass on this and welcome this development.