Will Turkey’s bid to join BRICS speed up EU accession?
- September 16, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Will Turkey’s bid to join BRICS speed up EU accession?
Sub: IR
Sec: Int Groupings
Context:
- Turkey has decided to officially bid to join BRICS. The country is awaiting approval of its membership, with Turkish officials confirming the application is under consideration.
Reasons for the bid:
- The move is seen as a strategy to gain leverage in Turkey’s EU accession bid.
- Others see it as a balancing act between its relations with the West and Russia.
Implications of the move:
- If Turkey indeed becomes a member of BRICS, often described as a counterbalance to a Western-led global order, it could move further away from joining the European Union (EU) and from deriving benefits of the 27-member bloc’s single market.
- Should Turkey now join the bloc, it would become its first NATO member and EU candidate, potentially complicating ties with the West and raising questions over Turkey’s commitment to the NATO.
Delay in accession to EU:
- Turkey’s accession process started in 2005, but came to a standstill in 2018 over several issues, including EU concerns on curbs on media freedom, executive control over the judiciary and insufficient civilian oversight of the Turkish security forces.
- The EU expects member countries to support democratic values and align with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.
- In an annual report last year, European parliamentarians concluded that Turkey’s “alignment rate with the EU’s Common foreign and security policy has slipped to an all-time low of 7%.
- EU has made it clear that it would admit Turkey only when the Turkish authorities bring reforms in fundamental freedoms and rule of law in the country.
Eying BRICS a sign of Turkish frustration with EU?
- Some see Turkey’s aim to join the BRICS group as a reaction to its lagging progress in EU accession
- Turkey is also unhappy with the EU for not moving forward on modernization of the customs agreement and on a roadmap for visa liberalization, which could clear the way for Turkey’s citizens to travel visa-free to European countries.
Why Turkey is a necessary ally for the west?
- Turkey has refused to back sanctions against Russia, and instead become a top buyer of Russian crude oil.
- Turkey also supports Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU.
- The US and other NATO allies were unhappy Turkey’s purchase of S400 missile defence systems from Russia in 2017 and again in 2022.
- If Turkey were to become a member of BRICS its credibility within the NATO would further decline.
- However, Turkey’s strategic location between the west and east makes it critical for NATO and US missions in the region.
About BRICS:
- BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
- The member countries cooperate on trade and economic expansion and provide a political counterbalance to international institutions dominated by the United States and Europe.
- The first BRIC summit was held in 2009 in Russia.
- In 2010, South Africa formally joined the association making it BRICS.
- During the Sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza (2014) the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai.
- Five new members – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE were admitted to the grouping in 2024.
- Also, over 20 other countries including Turkey have expressed interest in joining.