Turkey's EU minister at Stockholm University (video)

Egemen Bağış (right) and Paul Levin. Photo: Eva Dalin

Heading off to Turkey tomorrow for a week so I don't have time for a longer post. But I thought I should at least post a link to the video of the talk by Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs and chief negotiator, Egemen Bağış, at Stockholm University last week.

I introduced Mr. Bağış and moderated the Q&A, which lasted for around 45 minutes. No questions were pre-screened. There were some protests at the very end of the Q&A, which made a bit of a stir in Turkish news, but below is a link to the whole thing, unedited and in its context.

If I have time, I will comment on the content at a later time.

Enjoy!

Here is a link to an article on the Stockholm University web site, with a link to the video.

If you want the video directly, click here.

Talk on Turkey-EU relations this Thursday!

For readers in or near Stockholm:

What promises to be a very interesting talk this Thursday at Stockholm University. I'm looking forward to catching up with the latest news on Turkey-EU relations and what Sweden has been doing on that topic other than what we see in the media. The talk will be in Swedish.

Do join us if you have the chance!

Swedish Development Minister's Op-Ed in Radikal Newspaper

Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation - and Gunilla has an op-ed in yesterday's Radikal. The article coincides with her current two-day visit to Turkey, the purpose of which is described as:

for discussions on how Turkey, as an influential regional actor and aid donor, can cooperate and exchange experience with Sweden. The talks will also focus on Sweden's support to Turkey's EU membership negotiations.

She is also there to attend a UNDP conference and is meeting with Egemen Bağış and Ali Babacan, Minister for EU Affairs/chief negotiator and Deputy Prime Minister respectively.

The op-ed in Radikal (which, btw is in Turkish! - I suspect someone helped her with the translation...) emphasizes Sweden's support for Turkey's EU candidacy and Turkey's strong ties to the EU. 

Turkish leader concerned about Islamophobia in Europe | RT

(Almost) all my diverse research foci converge when Russia Today (RT) reports Abdullah Gül's remarks about the increasing racism and Islamophobia in Europe:

The Turkish leader noted that “increasing ethnic, cultural and religious tensions can result in tensions and division in society,” but it is the state that must control these processes.

“The task of the state is to secure for all its citizens, regardless of religion, language and race, equal constitutional rights and…equal opportunities,” Abdullah Gul said.

One can, of course, point out that making remarks like these while the Turkish military is embarked on a campaign against Kurdish insurgents in Eastern Anatolia invites accusations of throwing rocks while living in a glass house.

But from the Turkish perspective, the same can be said for criticism against Turkish discrimination of Kurds, coming from EU member states in which ethnic Turks and other minority groups face systematic discrimination. And given the large number of Turks living in the EU, racism and Islamophobia that targets these exile communities are legitimate concerns for the Turkish state.

Take Sweden, where I live, as an example. A wonderful country in most ways, which treats newly arrived immigrants better than most other countries, with subsidized entry-level jobs, paid for Swedish language education etc. Still, experimental research shows that even here immigrants are severely discriminated against.

One meta-study (source in Swedish) of experimental research on discrimination on the job and housing markets, reported the following findings: CVs sent by persons with Arabic-sounding names receive between 50% to 88% fewer responses from employers than identical CVs with traditional Swedish names. There were similar results on the very tough Swedish housing market (50-60%). And my hunch is that even these shockingly high numbers hide the true extent of discrimination given the importance of informal contacts in getting both jobs and rental housing in Sweden.

As for the recent rise in Islamophobia, the last chapter of my book examines the increasingly hostile - and, from the far right, Islamophobic - rhetoric evident in the European Parliament in recent years.

The point is: Gül has a point.

Ahmed, M. A. and Ekberg, J. (2009), ‘Fältexperiment för att studera etnisk diskriminering på den svenska arbets- och bostadsmarknaden’, Socialvetenskaplig Tidskrift 16 (2).

Increasing Islamophobia in Europe dangerous trend – Turkish leader — RT

Interview on Greece-EU troubles

Here's a link to an article in today's Metro newspaper where I am quoted. I discuss the consequences of Greece's troubles for the EU and for Sweden. The article is in Swedish.

Is the Blame Game afoot?

The debate about Turkey's stalled EU-accession negotiations is heating up. I have previously commented on Erdoğan's Newsweek Op. Ed., in which he described the EU in rather harsh terms. Now, in a meeting at Davos Turkey's former top negotiator and current Deputy PM, Ali Babacan (pronounced Baba-Jaan) has warned that the Union is turning into a "Christian club."

Ali Babacan at Davos in 2008. Copyright World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)

According to the AFP, Babacan remarked that the "open door policy" of the EU is simply "not there" anymore. And that

one of the big themes about why Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union is because it is a Christian club. This is in our view very, very dangerous

There are several ways to interpret these moves, but my best guess is that the Turkish leadership is

Turkey will be in the EU, says Sweden's foreign minister - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt continues to express support for Turkey's EU membership bid. As I previously noted, on Dec 10 last year Bildt wrote a NYT op ed together with the foreign ministers of Finland, UK, and Italy in which they expressed their support for Turkish membership.

And in a recent interview with the Turkish TV channel Skyturk, Bildt reiterated his views. As reported by Hürriyet Daily News, Bildt argued that

Historical experience shows that a democracy that knocks on the door of the democratic European Union will at the end of the day never be refused

I think that Bildt is doing an important job - if for no other reason than to let supporters of both continued reforms and eventual EU membership in Turkey know that they have friends in the EU. While I have heard him make the argument in Swedish media on at least one occasion, I have not noticed him being quite as active in Sweden as he has been in international and Turkish media. It may well be that I have missed something, so I don't want to press this point. But it does point to a more general challenge for supporters of Turkish EU membership in EU member states: making the case for a Turkish membership at home.

Bildt, Frattini, Hague, and Stubbs in the NYT

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt in an op-ed on enlargement in today's New York Times, together with his British, Italian, and Finish colleagues:

The crucial question is not whether Turkey is turning its back on Europe, but rather if Europe is turning its back on the fundamental values and principles that have guided European integration over the last 50 years.

"Dutch gov’t reassures Turks of Muslims' rights"

Hürriyet's Daily News & Economic Review reports from a meeting between Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal and a group of Turkish journalists. During the meeting, Rosenthal attempts to reassure Turks that the Netherlands does not discriminate against Muslims or against the nearly 400 000  in the country. He argues that, while the government relies on the backing of Geert Wilders' far right and Islamophobic Freedom Party, the party is not a formal coalition member precisely because of its position on Islam.

Somewhat awkwardly, Rosenthal states that

People who believe in Islam are entitled to go to the mosque. The only point that they have to take into account is that they should not go beyond the rule of law and the constitutional duties going with that..

One can only speculate about what he means by the latter caveat, but one gets the impression that Muslims in his view tend to "go beyond the rule of law" when they go to the mosque...

The article also quotes Rosenthal on the Dutch government's position on Turkey's EU bid:

“The principle of the Dutch government with regard to enlargement is strict and fair. We