Caspian Report - Issue 06 - Winter 2014

EBRU TURHAN
58
GERMAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
AT A GLANCE
Germany is defined as Turkey’s leading
trading partner, with bilateral
trade having reached a new record of
EUR 32.1 billion in 2012, despite the
financial crisis in Europe. The number
of Turkish and German companies
with German capital operating
in Turkey has risen to nearly 6,000,
while Turkish companies have been
increasingly involved in investments
in Germany and setting up businesses
in sectors of strategic importance for
both countries. The two countries
cooperate under the umbrella of various
leading international organizations
including the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), G20 and
the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), and have
recently launched the German-Turkish
Strategic Dialogue Mechanism in
order to nurture bilateral cooperation
on key issues of common interest,
including the supply of energy
security, the fight against terrorism
and extremism as well as foreign and
security policy. 3
The nearly three million people of
Turkish origin residing in Germany
also add an important dimension to
the German-Turkish dialogue. The
intensity of the bilateral relations are
also demonstrated by frequent mutual
high-level visits. German Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s most recent
visit to Turkey was in February 2013.
Prime Minister Erdogan paid an official
visit to Berlin on 4 February 2014
and held meetings with Chancellor
Merkel, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier and Vice-chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel, where the leaders
focused on issues of strategic importance
such as the acceleration of Turkey’s
EU accession process, regional
and international matters, and German-Turkish
economic cooperation.
THE GERMAN “FACTOR” IN EU-
TURKEY RELATIONS
THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL HAS ONLY BEEN IN A POSITION
TO MAKE A POSITIVE DECISION ON THE ACCELERATION
OF TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION PROCESS WHEN THE
GERMAN GOVERNMENT HAS EXPLICITLY SPOKEN UP ON
TURKEY’S BEHALF.
Important decisions pertaining to
Turkey’s EU accession process are
taken at the gatherings of the European
Council or the Council of the
European Union, also known as the
Council of Ministers. The intergovernmental
structure of these bodies
brings to the forefront the impact of
Member States’ enlargement politics.
Within the framework of intergovernmental
gatherings the Member States
negotiate their preferences, which reflect
national objectives. Negotiation
power is predominantly determined
by the presence of asymmetrical interdependence
between the Member
States. 4 With its multiple capabilities
in both economic and political terms,
Germany has assumed a leadership
3
. Auswärtiges Amt, Joint Declaration between the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey on the establishment of a Strategic Dialogue Mechanism, 12 May 2013, Berlin.
4
. Andrew Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht,
(New York: Ithaca), 1998, p. 61