Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

TURKEY

This week a decision will be made about whether or not Turkey should join the EU club. Nothing to do with us, we live in Devon, I hear you shout. Umm, sorry, but it has everything to do with us, especially those of us with children and grandchildren.

Turkey is an Islamic country of 70 million people and growing rapidly. Once in the EU its population will have freedom of movement, residence and employment across the Union. Does it matter that their heritage and culture is a strongly Islamic one, whereas all other EU countries are shaped by very different Judeo-Christian principles?

Turkey has a dodgy human rights record and most of their people live on the poverty threshold. If they come in, it will take years of financial support to see living standards rise to average European levels. Should we pay for that?

Some arguments for: joining the EU underpins the rule of law, human rights and democratic principles. This worked well for Spain Portugal and Greece and will help Turkey become a more stable nation. Its entry would expand the single market to the benefit of British companies. It has been a valued member of NATO for many years and its current government has made good progress in modernising the country. It is a gateway to the Islamic world and will help the west establish better relations with Muslim countries.
Arguments against: Turkish accession would further undermine the framework of Christian values on which the rest of Europe has been built; would exacerbate existing race-relations tensions; it would be too expensive for us and would make the EU unwieldy and unworkable.

The French are very unhappy about Turkish accession as is Holland which has recently woken up to the realisation that in a few years time 4 of its largest cities will have a majority Muslim population. The British government is supportive of Turkish accession, but of course it would take at least ten years to work through in practice.

For me, it is a judgement call that is finely balanced. I believe in EU expansion. The best thing about the EU is the framework it provides for nations on our doorstep to become modern, law abiding and stable. This is good news for those who don’t want to see another European war.
But serious doubts remain about whether Islamic values and Western values can co-exist successfully side by side.

posted by Nigel on Monday, December 20, 2004