Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

The unfair use of Cyprus as a bargaining chip
- Turkish people are annoyed by the fact that the issue of
Turkish Cyprus is constantly brought up by the EU. 15 This
issue even caused a stir between Prime Minister Erdoğan
and then Greek Prime Minister Papandreou at the Ambassadors
Conference held in Erzurum, during which Papandreou
stated: “unless Turkey ends its invasion of Cyprus,
it can never become a member of the EU.” 16
EU Accession as a dividing force within Turkish society
- Due to the fact that no actual progress has been made in
Turkey’s bid for accession, the government feels compelled
to continually restate that they have not given up. 17
This is particularly important, as the opposition blames
the government for the lack of success in the accession
process. The topic of EU membership mostly ends in
heated debates and arguments between members of parliament,
just like the one that broke out between Egemen
Bağış, the Minister for EU Relations, and members of the
opposition parties during the 13 December session of
Parliament. 18
2011 IN REVIEW:
2011 was an uneventful year in terms of Turkey’s
relations with the EU. The fact that not much has changed
in the accession process is not a good sign, and has served
as a substantive factor for the deterioration of the EU’s image
in the eyes of the Turkish public. Public opinion demonstrates
an unwillingness to accept the government’s
rhetoric that it is working towards making Turkish accession
to the EU a reality. The fact that there are occasional
policy stand-offs between Turkey and the EU does not help
the situation. This was the case in February 2011 when
Turkish citizens were exempted from obtaining EU visas.
Turkish officials continue to insist that the EU needs Turkey
more than it needs the EU; most Turks share this view,
although Europe’s political elite does not recognize it. 19 Eu-
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