Istanbul-BosphorusFor the complete report in the International Herald Tribune click on this link
News Analysis: Debate over Turkey key to EU world role
The question of Europe's borders is emerging as a central issue in a quest for a collective identity that can overcome the rift between European citizens and their leaders. Deceptively simple and yet fraught with controversy over how to translate an elusive cocktail of geography, history and common values into frontiers, the debate goes to the heart of the EU's bid to secure its place in the 21st century. "If we want Europe to count in the world, we need to address the question of Europe's geographical and political identity," said Michel Barnier, a former French foreign minister and former EU commissioner. "That's one lesson of the referendum." Expansion has been the EU's most powerful foreign policy tool as it spread the bloc's values over its 50-year history. Advocates say its future influence rests squarely with its ability to grow further. Expansion, the argument goes, can help bolster the EU's shrinking and aging population and inject economic dynamism. It can also help spur change and stability in strategic neighboring regions - in the case of Turkey, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
According to Onur Oymen, deputy leader of Turkey's main opposition CHP party and a former ambassador to NATO, a Turkey firmly anchored in the EU could serve as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world.
No comments:
Post a Comment