EU Invitation: Big ‘If’ for Turks

Turkey has been knocking at the door of the European Union for years, and last week the EU finally answered with a conditional invitation for eventual full membership. Invitations were also issued to five former Soviet bloc nations and Malta.

The bid to Ankara is a responsible and politically astute move by the EU and an important opportunity for Turkey, an officially secular but overwhelmingly Muslim power in the Middle East.

The call comes despite Ankara’s poor record on human rights, particularly in dealing with its Kurdish minority, its intermittent suppression of the press and the strong influence of the military on government. Another big problem, more troublesome politically, is Turkey’s continued military occupation of the northern part of the predominantly Greek island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. That has been a sticking point for U.S. policymakers and the main obstacle for European acceptance of Turkey into some Western organizations. Both Greece and Turkey are NATO members.

If the Cyprus issue and other key problems are fixed, Turkey should be in the EU within a decade. Ankara’s case has been advanced by the help it gave Washington in the Persian Gulf War, including use of Turkish air bases.

Historically Greek, Cyprus had a mixed Greek and Turkish population under British rule from 1814 to its independence in 1960. A coup by pro-Greek elements in 1974 triggered a Turkish invasion of the largely Turkish northern area and resulted in a division of the island that lasts to this day. The Turkish occupation forces must leave to permit formation of a single national government on Cyprus and fully clear the way in the EU for Turkish membership. Other EU requirements include press freedom, abolition of the death penalty and renunciation of torture.

The incentive for change in Turkey is powerful: access to the European common market, labor mobility and broader access to capital. The Turks clearly want this deal, but only their leaders can make it happen. They should not miss this opportunity.