Caspian Report - Issue 06 - Winter 2014

process. The latest events demonstrated
to both Germany and other
Member States the importance of the
EU conditionality in the context of the
accession process for Turkey’s stability
and democracy. Turkey’s current
political crisis, which emerged in the
wake of a graft probe on 17 December
2013, united German Christian
Democrats and Social Democrats for
perhaps the first time in Germany’s
contemporary political history, in the
belief that Turkey’s EU accession process
should be accelerated by opening
Chapters 23 and 24. Following
the eruption of the political turmoil,
Andreas Schokenhoff, Deputy Head
of the CDU/CSU Faction in the German
Parliament, stated that Turkey
needed the EU prospects in order to
finalize the reform process. 22 In a similar
vein, Elmar Brok, CDU member
and Chairman of the EP Committee
on Foreign Affairs, called for the quick
opening of Chapters 23 and 24. 23
The Social Democrats, for their part,
stated in their draft resolution for the
EP elections that Turkey’s EU accession
negotiations should continue
with the clear aim of accession. 24
It is highly likely that we are entering
an era of a closer EU-Turkey relationship,
with strong German backing,
given that a democratic Turkey that is
anchored to the EU serves Germany’s
national interests.
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CASPIAN REPORT, WINTER 2014
22
. “Enge Bindung an die Türkei”, die Welt, 27 December 2013
23
. “Druck aus Europa wächst”, Handelsblatt, 28 December 2013
23
. “SPD nimmt Banken ins Visier”, Handelsblatt, 18 January 2014