RIDGE POLITICAL REVIEW
  • Home
  • Domestic
  • International
  • Opinions
  • Economics
  • Local
  • About
  • Contact
  • All Articles

All Articles

European Aid to Turkey

12/18/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture

By Kaitlin Smalling

Gender equality, competitive economic development, and standard transportation, agricultural, and energy standards are among the principles that the European Union emulates. The union emphasizes social and economic development, so when nations attempt to qualify for the Union it often garners Union-wide attention. Such is the case of Turkey: since 2001, it has tried to reform itself to European Union standards. Unfortunately, Turkey cannot reform itself on its own and in the last few steps of application to the EU, Turkey has required aid to transform its social principles.
​
In fact, the European Nation Neighborhood Policy Commissioner, Stefan Fule, contributed a $317 million reform package to Turkey on Friday, November 22, 2013. This package specifically concentrated on strengthening the current judiciary system by creating a more self-sufficient and objective institution to enforce laws that will qualify them for the EU.

However, sometimes it is less a matter of money and a more a matter of mindset. The Turkish people have given their government a hard time about the new changes because not all of them want to join the European Union. To deter aid-giving nations from helping Turkey qualify to the EU, violent demonstrations by a Kurdish minority in the capital have become the norm. For example, protesters gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square for the two weeks leading up to June 11, 2013, when they rioted against police to prevent the modernization of the square and the government on principle. They argue that the changing government involves more of a parliamentary approach rather than a participatory approach, which increases the chances that voices are ignored. The Turkish government figures that admission to the EU may aid in the longstanding problem with the Kurdish minority, but it is currently just exacerbating the already established political polarization.

Unfortunately, the rebellious citizens are not the only thing standing in the way of Turkey’s qualification: Turkey’s policies regarding women in the political sphere are not up to par for EU standards. Although 1% of Turkish municipalities have female mayors, that is insufficient for the gender equality that EU members boast. In addition to this difference in ideals, not all aid-giving countries want Turkey to be admitted because those countries send aid to help areas like infrastructure instead of aid to help transform the judiciary and government itself for qualification. For instance, Great Britain contributed £1.2 Billion for Turkish sewage and infrastructure improvements, but the EU Commission only just realized this last week. Not only does this question if the EU Commission tracks where aid is going, but it also tells Turkey that even its aid giving allies are not necessarily on its side in getting admitted; they are simply concerned about being able to say they aided Turkey in its application.

This drew attention to the financial assistance program Turkey was working with, which is called the Accession Partnership document. The Accession Partnership Document identifies areas where progress is needed the most to prepare for accession, or admittance to the EU. Part of its initiative is to increase democratized versions of human rights, macroeconomic stabilization, and communicative powers in national legislation. Unfortunately, with the direction the aid packages are headed, the EU Commission is considering an 11% decrease in foreign aid spending in the 2014-2020 budget. This not only implies that Turkey will be more isolated in its attempt to gain admittance to the EU, but also implies that other disadvantaged and developing nations will not receive as much aid as prior. Is it fair to these countries that nations like Turkey are indirectly taking away from their care packages when they need it the most? In many cases it’s not, but it’s ultimately up to the people of Turkey to propel themselves in the direction of EU and international standards.

1.http://www.avrupa.info.tr/AB_Mali_Destegi.html
2.http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2013/11/22/EU-offers-support-for-Turkish-reforms/UPI-80981385132576/#ixzz2lu47jRzo
3.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107942/Britain-gives-80m-aid-Turkey-help-upgrade-nation-s-sewer-system.html#ixzz2lu8iC5vl
4.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8457729/EU-wastes-billions-in-aid.html
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    November 2012
    September 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Aadhavaarasan Raviarasan
    Adam Smith
    Albert Wu
    Alex Liao
    Alex Timoney
    Alicia Jen
    Alison Shim
    Andrea Lan
    Andrew Falduto
    Anvi Mahagaokar
    Atreya Misra
    Ayla D'Silva
    Bardia Vaseghi
    Benny Sun
    Bharat Sanka
    Brandon Lu
    Brian Wen
    Brinda Gurumoorthy
    Caitlin Schiffer
    Camille Shen
    Caroline Margiotta
    Caroline Sha
    Catherine Chen
    Cathy Chen
    Chloe Yang
    Christine Wang
    Daniel Pittaro
    Daniel Zhang
    Davis George
    Deeptanshu Singhvi
    Dilara Shahani
    Ellee Tomaru
    Emily Pan
    Emily Wang
    Erin Flaherty
    Felix Zheng
    Hitha Santosh
    Howard Wei
    Injae Lee
    Jacob Clott
    James Gao
    Jasmine Xie
    Jedson Boyle
    Jennifer Huang
    Joey Walter
    Jonathan Nemetz
    Jon Jen
    Julia Roos
    Kaitlin Smalling
    Katherine Wang
    Katie Kleinle
    Kevin Tang
    Kevin Yang
    Kishan Gandham
    Kunal Damaraju
    Kyanna Ouyang
    Logan Aviles
    Lucas Canteros-Paz
    Maggie Hsu
    Mariam Khan
    Mark Stachowski
    Mason Krohn
    Meghan Mangini
    Michael Shaw
    Mimi Petric
    Namita Kalghatgi
    Noah Smith
    Oliver Tang
    Omar Bekdash
    Pasha Saidi
    Priya Mullassaril
    Raheel Abubakar
    Ranen Miao
    Rayhan Murad
    Robert Johnson
    Ryan Walsh
    Saamia Khan
    Saloni Singhvi
    Sam Klein
    Sarah Ouyang
    Shaina Spector
    Shaurya Ganjoo
    Shiam Kannan
    Sunjay Melkote
    Tim O'Shea
    Tim Tang
    Vicki Liu
    Victoria Lu
    Vivek Gurumoorthy
    Wei Wen
    Willa Yu
    Zayna Kutty

rpr

About
Home
Read All
​
Contact

Sections

International
Domestic
Economics
​Opinions
Local
​
Search Site
© COPYRIGHT 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Domestic
  • International
  • Opinions
  • Economics
  • Local
  • About
  • Contact
  • All Articles