Answer 1
Turkey, A European Country? First of all, because most of its territory is not located in Europe but in Asia Second, although the gross national income may be considerable due to a big population, the development level or individual income does not match the average of EU countries.
Answer 2
FOR
- The EU already trades extensively with Turkey.
- In the last 15-20 years the EU has hinted to Turkey that if the country can 'clean up' its human rights it would be admitted. There's room for debate as to whether any promise was made.
- Turkey is a crucial ally when it comes to the Middle East as a transitional country between the "east" and the "west". If Europe leaves Turkey alone, USA will have a very strong ally (stronger than the present alliance) in the Middle East, right at the EU border. This is a big problem if EU has future plans of greater direct political influence in the area.
- Turkey has been coming back and forth between different political ideas and institutions, varying from demands for a religious state to that of a militarist state, a communist state and a liberal state. What EU has to offer can fully convert Turkey into the European democracy that she aims to be in theory. Otherwise, EU will have a highly unstable country right at its border, having a very large army with a political opinion.
AGAINST
- Except for a small section, the country isn't in Europe geographically.
- Culturally, the country isn't in Europe, either.
- Poor record on human rights.
- The Turkish state is based on a whole series of falsehoods, including denial of the Armenian Holocaust and the existence of Kurds in Turkey.
- Turkey has a large population, enough to have a significant say in EU politics given she is admitted. Such an impact might jeopardize the union if not developed with the necessary concern for the concept of EU but as an extension of national politics since Turkey has a strong nationalist root in its foundings.
- The unemployment in Turkey, combined with the young population, might, in addition to mass Immigration, also borne a less expected problem for the EU: invasion of Turkish workforce. European jobs are better paying, more comfortable and advantageous than the jobs in Turkey in general. In Turkey, it is possible to see an MA graduate work in the service industry simply because he/she could not find anywhere to take advantage of the diplomas he/she had; who would suddenly flood Europe with qualified staff and academics, creating a hard to estimate ripple effect in the industries and academia.
