AP Comp Gov - European Union Discussion/Debate

1. EU Enlargement:

What is the process for accepting new countries into the EU? Should EU enlargement continue?

• Country signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership
• Most countries don’t meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process.
• When a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the Commission to prepare an opinion on the country’s readiness to begin negotiations
• Council can either accept or reject the Commission’s opinion
• If the council agrees to open negotiations the screening process begins.
• The Commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist.
• The Council then recommends opening negotiations on “chapters” of law that it feels there are sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations
• Usually the member state convinces the EU that its laws and administrative capacity are sufficient to execute European law, which can be implemented as seen fit by the member states.
• A chapter is said to be closed when both sides have agreed it has been implemented sufficiently
• Once the negotiations are complete, a treaty of accession is signed and then ratified by all of the member states of the Union, as well as the institutions of the Union, and the candidate country.
• Once this is done it will join the union.

Should Turkey (a Muslim country) become a member of the EU? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?

• Advantages:

o Geopolitical

§ Turkey is a major regional power

§ Strategically located between Europe and the Middle East, and Europe and Central Asia

§ Represents a bulwark against instability in both of these volatile parts of the world, and is a potential bridge between Christian Europe and the Islamic world

§ Cultural ties through academia, business, and the Turkish Diaspora (estimated population of Turkish people in the world migrated outside of Turkey and any other Turkish homeland) are further evidence that Turkey’s place is in Europe

o Economic

§ Per capita income has doubled since 2003

§ Youthful population, which provides an excellent market for EU goods

§ Potential source of labor, which is important because EU birth rates are falling

§ Attracts large amounts of foreign direct investment (9 billion euros in 2007)

§ Good car and appliance manufacturing industry

o Energy

§ Alternative route for Russian energy to transit into the EU with plans underway to make the Nabucco pipeline operational by 2013

· Nabucco pipeline: proposed natural gas pipeline from Turkey to Austria, diversifying natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe.

· Attempts to lessen European dependence on Russian energy.

§ Could also potentially be a transit route for energy supplies from the central Asia and the Middle East

o Defense

§ Has been a staunch ally of Europe and defender of European interests since the Cold War

§ Troops served alongside EU troops most recently in Afghanistan and the DR of Congo.

§ Will be an important ally in dealing with Iran on it’s nuclear threat and with Iraq on its transition to a peaceful, democratic state

§ By including Turkey in the EU, cooperation on defense and security matters will strength.

o Reforms

§ Has been an associate member of the EU since 1963 and applied formally to join in 1987

§ Turkey has introduced many reforms to prepare for EU membership

· Abolished capital punishment

· Reformed its police by cracking down on torture and giving rights to its minority Kurdish population

§ Moving closer to a European-style democracy

§ If it’s refused, these reforms may be taken back.

• Disadvantages:

o Too Big

§ Over 70 million people

§ Only Germany would have a bigger population (82 million)

§ Turkey would probably become the biggest member state of the EU

§ Lisbon treaty gives even greater say in EU decision-making to countries with higher populations through the weighted voting system in the Council of Ministers—Turkey would have a huge say over matters affecting European citizens daily lives.

o Too Poor

§ 2005: populated = 15% of EU’s population, but GDP was just 2% of EUs GDP

§ Such an underdeveloped country would put enormous strain on the EU budget, most notably the Common Agricultural Policy

o Too Muslim

§ 98% Muslim

§ Struggles between secular forces and more religious forces in recent years through the ruling AKP party’s insistence on lifting a ban on women wearing the hijab in university

§ Powerful Muslim country at the helm of the EU influencing debate on a range of moral and social issues would be unfavorable.

o Geography

§ Predominantly part of the Asian continent and borders Iran, Iraq, and Syria, who the EU presents as considerable security risks

o Politics

§ Always been turbulent; several coups staged by the military over the years

§ Current political ruling class has brought greater stability than past regimes, but still brought their own brand of instability

· AKP party has come close to being dissolved and have chosen to take on controversial issues (ex: lifting the ban on women wearing the hijab in university and imposing a law to outlaw speaking about the Armenian genocide)

· Ratcheted up the war with the Krudish militant group, the PKK

§ EU Commission’s progress reports have consistently shown problems in the Turkish reform process with judicial reform and rights of Turkey’s Kurdish population among the major problem areas.

2. Competition with the United States:

• The EU does not have a fully integrated foreign policy, so relations can be more complicated where the EU does not have a common agreed position (ex: Iraq War)

How much does the European Union work with the US, and how much does it directly compete with the US? Should the US feel threatened by increased cooperation among European countries on issues such as the economy, defense, and human rights?

• Mainly concerned with trade policy
• A growth of the EU’s economic power has led to a number of trade conflicts between the two powers
• Arms embargo against China
• Somewhat a cause of conflict: some countries (especially France) want to lift the ban and improve trade relations, but the US strongly opposes this
• Defense of Europe is assigned to NATO and Europeans are more averse to using military force (and paying for it) than the US.
• Frustrates the US—sees Europe as failing to support its side of the NATO operation in Afghanistan
• Disagree on genetically modified food—EU has been under domestic pressure to restrict the growth and import of genetically modified foods until their safety is proven. The US is under pressure from its agricultural business to force the EU to accept imports.
• Disagreement on death penalty
• US strongly opposed to the International Criminal Court
• Arab-Israeli conflict: EU usually more critical of Israel and the US more supportive

3. British integration into the EU: should Britain adopt a more integral role in the EU (ie by accepting the euro) or remain in a semi-detached state? Explain reasons why.

• Britain will be a positive participant in the EU
• Britain will play a strong and positive role with the EU, but stay accountable to British people for what it does on their behalf in the EU
• Top priority: boost economic growth
• Means promoting the single market and developing trade links
• Environmental problems (low carbon, etc)
• EU Bill: ensures that in the future, Parliament and British people will have their say on any proposed transfer of powers from the UK to the EU.

Germany and the European Union:

• strongly supports European integration
• works toward peace and international security
• Turkey: Germany opposes full membership of Turkey to the EU.
• “Turkey could be in deep, deep trouble when it comes to its aspirations to join the European Union” regarding its refusal to open up its ports to EU member Cyprus (Chancellor Angela Merkel)
• Britain:
• Germany wants a global tax on bank transactions and radical shift in the rules governing the single currency by insisting struggling eurozone countries should be allowed to restructure their debt
• 9-point plan rewriting the euro regime to include legally enshrined budget deficit ceilings in all 16 member countries
• these demands could require the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to be renegotiated, presenting David Cameron with a dilemma over whether this would trigger an EY referndum in Britain