On September 21, a four-day visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Germany ended. He was invited by the federal president of Germany, Christian Wulff. Germany is the most important country of the EU for Turkey. The reason is not only the strong economy and political positions of Germany, but also the significant Turkish community living there.
According to the statistical service of Germany, 1.6 million Turkish citizens were living in the country at the end of 2010. Moreover, nearly 700,000 German citizens have Turkish roots, according to the foreign ministry of Germany. Ethnic Turks are participants in German political life. For example, Jam Ozdemir is the chairman of the Green Party. Four more deputies of Turkish origin were elected to the current Bundestag.
That is why integration issues became the most important part of Gul’s visit to Germany. These issues have always been delicate for both countries. Discussions about who is guilty for the disintegration of the Turkish community are favourite themes for the German media. Gul criticized German migration laws and called it unfair and in contradiction of human rights. For example, the Turkish president is not satisfied with the demand to know the German language for Turkish spouses of German citizens. This demand appeared for certain reasons. It was initiated in 2007, when it became clear that, after moving to Germany, many consorts (primarily wives) didn’t start learning German, which means they cannot or don’t want to integrate into the society. This leads to an absurd situation: people who had been living in Germany for many years couldn’t speak two words in German, as they only communicated with representatives of their culture.
However, Gul’s criticism was rejected by the German side. The national minister stated that learning of German is beneficial for migrants. Wulff also said that migrants, especially women, shouldn’t become outcasts in society.
The theme of speaking German has been raised by the Turkish authorities many times, which leads to an ambiguous attitude on the part of the Germans. For example, in February 2011 Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan urged Turks living in Germany to learn their native language first, and only after that to learn the German language. The statement was considered to be interference in the internal policy of Germany, as he was speaking about German citizens, even if they are Turks.
The second issue on the agenda in bilateral relations is the position of Germany towards Turkish membership of the EU. Angela Merkel, speaking at the party meeting in Hessen, clearly stated that Germany is against membership of Turkey in the EU and suggested a strategic partnership instead. However, Turkey doesn’t need partnership, as it already exists. The next step within this partnership should be full-scale membership. The other question is: is Turkey interested in the EU, with all its economic problems and crises? Thus, Gul reminded the German authorities that Turkey has other interests too: “Everyone should understand that our nation, which is prevented from membership of the EU due to artificial reasons and is offended by the visa regime, is not as enthusiastic about the EU issue as it was 10 years ago. Now we consider other chances and abilities without denying our crucial values.” These offences are well-known in Europe, and Germany said one more “no” to Turkish membership in the EU.
Nevertheless, Abdullah Gul has reasons for indignation about the visa regime between Turkey and Germany, as, according to the statistics, since 2006 an outflow of Turkish citizens from Germany to Turkey has been observed. The reason is economic growth in Turkey against the background of the long-term crisis in Europe. So fears that, after withdrawing the visa regime, Germany will be covered by a wave of Turkish migrants, are exaggerated.
Gul planned to speak about relations between Turkey and the EU at Humboldt University in Berlin, but because of an anonymous call warning about a terrorist attack the visit was cancelled. According to the German media, Gul said he would cut short the visit and return to Turkey, if he didn’t have the ability to take the floor. Two hours later he was given another room in the same university. Such uncompromising behavior frm the Turkish president caused surprise: the issue is about his own security, isn’t it? Moreover, is it adequate to behave in such a way during a state visit at the private invitation of the German president? Little by little, surprise shifted to dislike, which Der Spiegel formulated in a politically-incorrect way: “Gul coming to us only threatens and blames us. However, many representatives of his nation who live in Germany do the same things.”
Thus, the visit to Germany by the Turkish president only brought to light contradictions between two countries. These contradictions are about either politics or culture. Considering this, Turkey's membership of the EU is fading away inch by inch, as none of the sides expresses interest in this issue.
Orkhan Sattarov, the head of the European bureau of VK
