Turkey and EU Law












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            * Turkey and EU Law
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            On Thursday, the 10th of April, the Common Law Society [ URL "http://www.society.cz/"] at 

            University Faculty of Law [ URL "http://www.prf.cuni.cz/en/"] hosted a lecture in the comp
            Professor Arndt Künnecke of the Okan University in Istanbul. A native of Hannover in Germa
            living in Istanbul, selected a very appropriate title of his lecture Turkey and the EU, a 

            Turkey’s relationship with the European Union.
            In what was a very informative and interesting lecture Professor Künnecke began by outlini
            events in Turkey’s tempestuous relationship with the EU, from 1923 and Atatürk’s shift tow

            through EU protocols and military coups, promising agreements and disappointing suspension
            current situation, where Turkey is an official candidate and associate member of the EU. H

            illustrated the benefits of the current EU-Turkey free trade agreement with a box of Turki
            bought duty-free, and received enthusiastically by the audience. He finished his summary i
            Turkish membership talks still stuck in a bog, if not having slipped into reverse followin

            Turkey’s priorities with regards to European integration.
            In the second half of the lecture Prof. Künnecke outlined the problems facing Turkish acce
            EU, and the numerous arguments used against it. Amongst them are claims that Turkey is not

            part of Europe, which raises questions about what the European Union is – a geographical e
            union of shared values; that its large population would immediately make it one of the mos
            members of the European parliament, a prospect not popular with many older members; suppos

            culture, religion and values that would impede integration; negative public opinion among 
            who oppose the idea of Turkish membership; the dodgy human rights record of the country, e
            treatment of Kurds, and the lack of freedom of speech; concerns about the power of the mil

            separation of powers (or lack of) between the three branches of government; rule of law, e
            the recent sackings of judges and policemen; and of course, the contentious issue of Cypru
            However, from the Turkish side he also notes that we can also see how 54 years of negotiat

            their toll on Turkish enthusiasm, with interest in the EU is dwindling. Public opinion in 
            membership has apparently dropped from 71% in 2004 to 36% in 2012, with Turkey reconsideri
            wants to be country number 29 in Europe, or country number one in the Arab world.

            Prof. Künnecke finished by calling for the EU to be more frank with Turkey and to stop lea
            in terms of the accession talks, and was sceptical of the chances of Turkey joining the EU
            emphasized the importance of the current arrangements between the EU and Turkey for govern

            sides of the Bosphorus. A very informative lecture, which drew a clear and concise picture
            those with limited prior knowledge of the situation.                                      
                                               Elan Grug Muse is in her second year studying for a BA 
                                               Prague. She is interested in international politics, mu
                                               skills.