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It is sad. At one point, they were close to joining the EU.
by snvzz 1y ago
It is sad.
At one point, they were close to joining the EU.
- comrade1234 1y agoAustria kept blocking it. This lead to Erdogan taking over and he kept pushing. I don't think they were really that close to joining - too much bad blood ((invasions and stuff) with Austria, Italy , etc.
- skinnymuch 1y agoThat’s not the issue. It’s that Turks and Kurds are not considered European. Europeans are the most Islamophobic.
- stodor89 1y agoEven if these statements held any truth, they'd still be irrelevant. "The issue" was Turkey's extremely brutal treatment of Kurds.
- larfus 1y agoDisagree. The current make-up of the EU barely represents historical bonds with so many nations in it. Though a populist leader using such history as leverage is not unbelievable, official Austrian reasoning behind refusal was much more pragmatic, human rights and migrants. Turkey is a regional player punching above their weight (potentially upsetting power balance less-so economically but definitely diplomatically and militarily) and is not exactly in line with EU ideals, culturally and politically, due to years of unstability and turmoil. That being put aside, despite flaunting acceptance and democracy as their foremost goal, EU leaders surely knew not compromising on Turkey's accession would stray them farther of the EU in every way possible. And if that helps with a potentially bigger migrant crisis, so much the better.
- monkeydreams 1y agoNations holding the region of Turkey are historically very powerful. My guess is that historical forces are reasserting themselves and that we may could see a much more assertive Turkey going forward.
- capitainenemo 1y ago... due to controlling a key choke-point in land trade between europe and the middle-east and asia. That hardly applies now. The suez canal would be a better modern equivalent.
- monkeydreams 1y ago> That hardly applies now. I respectfully disagree given the basic fragility of the Suez Canal system along with the fact that Egypt is not growing into a major world power on the back of their governance of this canal.
- capitainenemo 1y agoNo, they aren't, and there are plenty of reasons for that, not in the least because the canal is very different from a major trade city. But then, land trade is not making a comeback either. So if you're arguing for something to restore the historic importance of Troy, Constantinople etc, you're going to have to find a factor besides historic inevitability.
- koolba 1y agoForget Austria, there’s no way Greece or Cyprus would allow Turkey to join the EU.
- wkat4242 1y agoI didn't follow it back then but why did Austria block it? I would have expected Greece to do so a lot more (considering the Cyprus conflict is still unresolved)
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- skinnymuch 1y agoEuropeans were never going to allow Turkey to join
- raincole 1y agoIt's sad that this comment is grey outed. Turkey doesn't even recognize Cyprus, an EU member. It will be braindead for Cyprus to not veto Turkey. Saying Turkey was "close" to join EU is a really long stretch.
- burnt-resistor 1y agoYep. Lots of hurdles. Turkey needed to grow up in some ways and was closer to getting there 10-15 years ago, but it actually regressed in some ways under Erdoğan.
- fakedang 1y agoIn some ways? It regressed the whole nine yards. Won't be surprised if Turkey ends up as a basket case of a major economic crisis which will inadvertently lead to a major social crisis.
- burnt-resistor 1y agoTrump says "Hold my beer!" This is a worldwide phenomenon of "too much" democracy (populism) vs. weak republics/administrative states/similar with increasing corruption plus manufactured consent to have more of it, funded by hamfisted billionaires.
- smcin 1y ago'greyed out'
- burnt-resistor 1y agoIt's a confluence of multiple factors including Turkey didn't want to carry low performers in the Euro while it was booming, plus a lack of willingness to harmonize with European practices, laws, and standards. Maybe 5-10% of it was racism, but not necessarily a major factor.
- veeti 1y agoLet's not pretend EU is much better. https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-crackdown-free-speech-26d021b1?st=41DzPa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-crackdown-free-speec...
- aosaigh 1y agoGive me a break. Comparing Turkey to the EU at large is asinine
- smotched 1y agoHow is it asinine? they both restrict speech and they both have no concept of "freedom of speech". The only difference is what they choose to censor.
- bsoles 1y agoDo you even know what you are talking about? Do you know how many journalists are in prison in Turkey? "Restricting speech", whatever that means, is nowhere near as putting journalists, mayors, and citizens in prison for "insulting" the president or for saying things that the president and his shills do not like.
- smotched 1y agoIt would help to read the article we're discussing. > Journalist posted a fake image online of the interior minister holding a sign that read “I hate freedom of opinion” and was subsequently handed a seven-month suspended prison sentence. A woman who posted images of politicians with painted-on Hitler mustaches and called a minister a terrorist was fined about $690.
- seszett 1y agoIt's probably useless to answer, but you are not addressing the question, which was about whether there are actually journalists in prison in the EU or not (there are not) whereas imprisonment of journalists in Turkey is an occupational hazard.
- condensedcrab 1y agoSeemed much more possible 10 years ago… now I don’t think there’s any doubt about what EU leadership thinks.
- dottjt 1y agoI was getting very confused at this statement and realised that Turkey is part of NATO, not the EU.
- orochimaaru 1y agoTurkey was one of the earliest NATO members (1952), earlier than West Germany.
- burnt-resistor 1y agoThat's what happens when you elect a corrupt, authoritarian "strong"man.
- pneumic 1y agoThis is proof that they aren’t a European country.
- adrianN 1y agoHungary enters the chat.