Accession of Turkey to the EU: comparative aspects of opportunities and threats

Turkey‘s quest for membership is a matter of great importance and discussion to both the European ant the Turkish societies. Despite the fact that Turkey has made a praiseworthy progress in approximating it‘s legal system to the standards of the EU‘s acquis, its accessional prospects are to be judged apon with careful precaution. The Turkish Republic became eligible for the membership after a course of turbulent history and in particular after the fall of the Caliphate in 1924 A.D., because only having this done the modern Republic of Turkey could come into existence. It was the first President of Turkey – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – who launched a series of reforms in order to turn this undeveloped, but from geopolitical point of view uniquely situated, Ottoman-style country into Western-style modern democracy. There are some solid arguments against the accession project in respect of Turkish Republic‘s capacity to become an integral part of the EU. It has to be noticed some issues with protection of human rights in this country. Of particular concerns are the rights of religious minorities who are sometimes subjected to discrimination, also unproportional limitations of freedom of expression, freedom of speech and assembly. The problem of ethnic minority of kurds and dicord with Cyprus is an obstacle to accession as well. One of the most severe problems to be faced after the accession is a flow of immigration to the European continent, taking into consideration, that Western countries even today have massive difficulties with disintegrating and unemployed foreign population; in addition to this, a notion of failure of multiculturalism is becoming more and more influential in the European societies