The battle for the hearts and minds of Europeans over Turkey's membership bid
With just over a week to go before the European Union begins membership talks with Turkey, the campaign against Turkey has been stepped up in Slovakia. But a new report from the London-based Centre for European Reform, a pro-Europe think tank, says Turkey is more likely to be an asset than a burden if it joins the European Union.
"We feel responsible to talk about this issue when the European Union wants to accept a country which is totally different from our culture and doesn't share the same values as the European countries do."
You have also launched a petition. How many have signed it?
"All together we have about 40,000 signatures and in Slovakia about 2,000."
Have you ever been in Turkey?
"I have never been to Turkey but I've heard different opinions on this country from people who have been there. There are some people who have only been in the hotels on the coasts and they have seen nice things but I also know people who were a little bit further inside the country and they have seen something completely different."
How would you comment on the ambiguous position of EU leaders relating to Turkey's membership?
"I think saying 'No' to Turkey needs some strength, as you have to surpass political correctness. I see politicians as the representatives of the citizens of their countries. The last survey showed us that 52 percent of all people in the European Union don't want Turkey in the European Union. In Austria, it is as high as 80 percent. Politicians should listen to the people."
Yes, but 60 percent of Austrians did not want Slovakia in the EU a few years ago.
"Yes, that's democracy."
But a new report from a London-based pro-Europe think tank, the Centre for European Reform, says Turkey is more likely to be an asset than a burden if it joins the European Union. Kerry Skyring spoke to one of the authors of the report, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, Katinka Barysch. She says Turkey would add strength to Europe's foreign policy:
"I think Europe will have no choice but to develop a much more strategic vision of the world. We need to figure out how to deal with Russia, China, and our neighbourhood that includes countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Morocco. To have Turkey on board on that would be very good. If it were a reliable partner on its way to EU accession, it would be a major asset for our foreign policy. It would also reinforce existing trends in the European Union; trends to openness and flexibility."
The other point that comes up quite often in your report is that Turkey could do something about Europe's economy. Its economy is growing quite rapidly, unlike most of Europe, and it also has a younger population. Is this going to be significant?
"It might be significant. It is entirely clear from the demographics of Western Europe and also of the new members of Central and Eastern Europe, which have even lower birth rates than many of the West European countries. That means that immigration will have to stay at a very high level if growth rates are to be sustained. Look around Europe and ask yourself where these immigrants are going to come from. They won't come from Central or Eastern Europe because their working populations will be declining even faster than in countries such as Germany, France or even Italy. So, they will have to come from outside the European Union.
"You could either help integrate a fast growing Turkey with a fast growing population on its way to European Union, westernising, modernising, and a good partner, or you could have immigrants from maybe Northern Africa. Surely, it would be more advantageous for the European Union to have free movement of labour, once Turkey is in."
