"The Current State of EU Accession Negotiations" Research from BETAM

The Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research, Betam, has published the research note titled "The Current State of EU Accession Negotiations" . The research, prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cengiz Aktar, Research Assistant Dr. Barış Gençer Baykan and Research Assistant Deniz Genç, examines where Türkiye stands in its EU accession negotiations, the nature of EU member states' interventions in the negotiations and what these interventions mean. Despite the deadlock in the negotiations, EU-Türkiye relations are beginning to revive, and there is now talk that France has lifted its block on the "Regional Policy" chapter and that the chapter will be opened for negotiation. This research answers the questions of what the basic parameters of the relatively positive climate compared to the previous period are, whether chapters other than Regional Policy can be opened, and what the general state of the negotiations is. It examines the current state of the negotiations under the headings "Open Chapters”, “", "Frozen Chapters" and " Chapters with No Legal or Political Obstacles", visualizes it in a table and finally addresses the chapters that could be opened in 2013 once the political obstacles to the negotiations are removed.

CURRENT STATE OF THE ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS

Since they began on 4 October 2005, the European Union accession negotiations have never proceeded properly and have gradually dropped off the agenda. Although the Ministry for EU Affairs and the European Commission continue their work, legislative alignment and the technical infrastructure of the negotiations are progressing extremely slowly. Croatia, which started negotiations on the same day as Türkiye, has completed its negotiations; the signed Accession Treaty is in the ratification process in the parliaments of the member states, and Croatia is expected to become a member in July 2013.

The main reason for the state of Türkiye's negotiations is political. On the EU side, in addition to many historical prejudices regarding Türkiye's membership, the country's Muslim identity stands out as the main reason behind the political resistance to our membership in some EU member states. The Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot Administration) has, in a sense, taken the accession negotiations hostage, as it holds Türkiye entirely responsible for the division of the island. On the Turkish side, uncertainty about our full membership is reflected as reluctance in alignment efforts and disrupts the negotiations. The main source of uncertainty is not only the ambiguous language used by leading EU countries regarding our membership but also the excessive self-confidence that has emerged in Türkiye as a result of its relative successes in recent times.

As can be seen in the table titled "Current State of the Accession Negotiations", there are currently 13 open Chapters, 18 Chapters blocked for political reasons and 3 Chapters that are not blocked from being opened for negotiation and have not been opened.

OPEN CHAPTERS

The European Council, which met in Brussels on 17 December 2004, decided on the recommendation of the European Commission that Türkiye sufficiently fulfilled the Copenhagen Political Criteria and that accession negotiations with Türkiye would begin on 3 October 2005; negotiations actually began on 4 October 2005. Since 2006, the parties have opened thirteen chapters for negotiation and provisionally closed only one chapter. In order of opening, the chapters Science and Research, Enterprise and Industrial Policy, Statistics, Financial Control, Trans-European Networks, Consumer and Health Protection, Company Law, Intellectual Property Law, Free Movement of Capital, Information Society and Media, Taxation, Environment, and Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy have been opened, of which the Science and Research chapter was opened and provisionally closed.

There are between 2 and 6 closing benchmarks for closing the chapters. These benchmarks may include the enactment of legislation for alignment with the EU acquis, the establishment of a new unit or institution, or the preparation of an action plan covering the work to be done. In addition, for each of the twelve open chapters there is a closing benchmark requiring that "Türkiye fulfill its obligation to fully and non-discriminatorily implement the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement, in accordance with the decision taken by the EU in December 2006 regarding negotiations with Türkiye".

FROZEN CHAPTERS

There are various obstacles to opening most of the chapters that have not yet been opened for negotiation. Since 2006, a total of 18 chapters have been blocked from being opened for negotiation, first by the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council and then by some member states. The failure to fully apply the Additional Protocol to the new members, that is, not opening air and sea ports to vessels and goods from the Republic of Cyprus, resulted in the suspension by the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 11 December 2006 of the chapters on Free Movement of Goods, Customs Union,, Fisheries, Transport, External Relations, Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services, Financial Services, and Agriculture and Rural Development . The chapters for which France blocked the decision to open negotiations in the EU Council, on the grounds that they are directly related to membership, are Agriculture and Rural Development, Economic and Monetary Policy, Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments, and Financial and Budgetary Provisions and Institutions. Socialist Party leader François Hollande, who won the presidential election in June 2012, is expected to take a different path and lift France's unilateral veto on these chapters. On the other hand, when no additional sanctions were imposed on Türkiye, the Republic of Cyprus announced that it would unilaterally block 6 more chapters from being opened for negotiation. These chapters are Freedom of Movement for Workers, Energy, Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, Justice, Freedom and Security, Education and Culture, and Foreign, Security and Defence Policy. As a result of a total of 18 chapters being blocked from negotiation for the reasons above and Türkiye's failure to meet the opening benchmarks in the other chapters that could be opened, no chapter has been opened for negotiation since 30 June 2010.

CHAPTERS WITH NO LEGAL OR POLITICAL OBSTACLES

There are only 3 negotiation chapters that have not yet been opened and are not blocked from being opened. These are the chapters on Public Procurement, Competition Policy, and Social Policy and Employment . The Screening Reports of all these chapters have been approved by the Council and the opening benchmarks have been communicated to Türkiye. However, Türkiye currently has to meet 3 technical opening benchmarks for the Public Procurement chapter, 6 for Competition Policy and 2 for Social Policy and Employment . However, the European Commission's 2012 Progress Report on Türkiye does not mention advanced alignment for any of these chapters. This clearly shows that Türkiye needs to make a more intensive effort to make progress in the relevant chapters.

TOWARD A REVIVAL IN EU-TÜRKİYE RELATIONS

The Cypriot presidency, which ended last December, was probably the peak of the poor state of the negotiations and EU-Türkiye relations in general. Indeed, whether through the "positive agenda" proposed by the Commission last year, as its name suggests, or through positive statements by politicians of some EU member states and officials of EU institutions, reactions to the halt in negotiations are increasing on the EU side. The Socialists coming to power in the latest elections in France means that the restrictions imposed on the negotiations by Sarkozy's France will be lifted. The coming to power in the elections in southern Cyprus of Nikos Anastasiadis, who comes from the liberal tradition and favors a federal solution, may lead Cyprus to review its Türkiye policy and thus lift the obstacles it has placed on some chapters.

CONCLUSION

There are nine chapters that could be opened during and after the Irish and Lithuanian presidencies this year. These are, with the lifting of the French veto, Economic and Monetary Policy , that is, the Euro chapter, and Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments; with the lifting of the Cypriot veto (and once the opening benchmarks are met), Justice, Freedom and Security, Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, Energy, and Education and Culture; and, whose opening benchmarks cannot be met due to the ambiguity of the membership perspective, Public Procurement, Social Policy and Competition Policy. However, for this perspective to be realized, all relevant parties need to do their part. Türkiye, for its part, needs to make the regulations necessary to meet the opening benchmarks mentioned above and, setting adventures aside, take steps that will rapidly bring the negotiations and EU membership back onto the agenda, above all in its own interest.