The EU Has Lost Its Importance, Relations with the UK Are Advancing

Turkish-European Union relations, developments in Turkish domestic and foreign policy, and Turkish-British relations were discussed at a meeting of the Bahçeşehir University School of Government and Leadership with British parliamentarians from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Ottaway, Mike Gapes, Andrew Rosindell, Rory Stewart and Frank Roy, as well as distinguished academics including Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Narlı, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Esmer, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selcen Öner, Assist. Prof. Dr. Deniz Tansi, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ebru Canan Sokullu and Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Selin Özoğuz.

THE MILITARY'S INFLUENCE ON POLITICS HAS DECREASED

The highlights of the meeting were as follows:
"In civil-military relations, the military's influence on politics has decreased with the AK Party government's 2002 reforms and the judicial reforms Türkiye made during its EU membership process.
Significant progress has been made on women's rights and human rights within the scope of the EU harmonization laws.

THE EU HAS LOST ITS IMPORTANCE

The European Union was a goal Türkiye wanted to reach, but today the European Union has lost its importance. Moreover, democratization has been a long-running process for Türkiye; the EU continues to be a driving force for the AK Party.

In the EU membership process, the Cyprus Problem and France's opposition to Türkiye's full EU membership and its unwillingness to open certain chapters have caused people in Türkiye to view the EU much more negatively. In addition, reforms in women's rights, the judicial system and the education system are important in the EU membership process.

RELATIONS WITH THE UK ARE DEVELOPING

The UK is not, and cannot be, part of Schengen and the European monetary union. The EU is perceived as a union shaped under the leadership of Germany and France, in which the voices of societies are not heard. The inability of the European Parliament and the parliaments of member states to be effective in EU decision-making creates a democratic deficit in the EU.

The international conjuncture will lead to the development of Türkiye-UK-US relations in 2012.