Speaking at the “Europe’s Alliances: Strategies in Troubled Times” seminar, a part of the 11th Westdeutsher Rundfunk (WDR) Europe Forum in the Slovenian capital, Babacan said the EU had started to develop a complicated array of relations, processes and arrangements with the many nations it was in contact with.
“Intricate terms, concepts, strategies, agendas, agreements and frameworks were spawned by the need to define and regulate the EU’s relations with the many differing players on its periphery,” he said.
“Many ideas were developed. But in all those ideas, one stood out as the best:
a process that had already proven its potential to transform Europe into something more than the sum of its parts. That idea was, of course, enlargement.”
Citing host country Slovenia, Babacan said the success of the EU enlargement process was apparent to all.
However, Babacan said that the enlargement, on its own, was not a universal remedy, but a panacea for all the problems affecting the Eurasian area.
“Moreover, one cannot realistically expect the EU to keep expanding indefinitely,” he said. “I believe that the EU can and indeed must enlarge a fair degree more to unite the political landscape that is Europe where a whole series of nations all subscribe to the same ideals and values and share similar goals and interest.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister said that the Balkans as a whole had always been strategically important for both Turkey and Europe.
“On the other hand, the peoples of the Balkans have seen their fair share of conflict and strife over the past two decades,” said Babacan.
“While a lot has been done to rebuild this fractured geography and bring stability and prosperity to this part of Europe, the truth, as we all know, is that we are not out of the woods yet. We have all worked hard together as regional and international actors to foster peace and reconciliation in the Balkans and invested heavily in trying to ensure a relatively smooth transition to liberal democracies and free market economies.”
“It was clear to us from the outset that the status quo with regard to Kosovo before the recent declaration of independence was in fact a festering wound that had the potential to cause instability in the region. Therefore, as the international community is also gradually coming to terms with, the continuation of status quo was inconceivable and indeed untenable. The independence of Kosovo was a culmination of a long and unique process and as such inevitable. Now, in order to further consolidate stability in the region, Europe needs to give a meaningful support to Kosovo to help it become a responsible member of the European family.”
As to Turkey’s own EU bid, Babacan said it was clear to Turkey and a majority in Europe that Turkey will fulfill the obligations of membership sooner rather than later.
“There is much more to be done, we are continuing on the path of reform. We have amended the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and ended the debate about the matter. We have also adopted a new Law of Foundations.”
However, the EU needed to remember that a political promise was made at the highest level to Turkey, he said.
“As a country that is a contributor when it comes to projecting peace and stability to the regions around it, Turkey has the ability to act as a force multiplier when it comes to dealing with the many challenges that I have outlined above.”
Turkey’s membership of the EU would give Europe a unique strategic depth, and thus a sense of urgency should be created in Europe with regards to Turkey’s accession process, Babacan said.
