Turkey joining the EU

AllweEverWanted said:Honestly, it feels like there are way too many people here working hard but not actually learning anything. The European Economic Community is just an old term for the EU... I don't see how some ancient acronym has anything to do with Turkey... or were you just trying to sound smart?

Always been a bit of a perfectionist, I guess...😁 😎

Turkey joining the European Union makes perfect sense from a geostrategic and economic standpoint. We're talking about adding 100 million new consumers. If people keep complaining about globalization hitting America, they should realize the EU can face the same thing.

The goal is to build critical mass. It doesn't really matter if individual citizens agree or not; there's a whole machine designed to convince them otherwise.

Right now, there’s massive skepticism. Xenophobia and fear of outsiders are peaking across the European Union, and who knows how long that's going to last...

Turkey doesn't actually want to join the European Union—well, they say they do, but the feeling isn't mutual. They have plenty of consumers right where they are without needing the EU, and frankly, the last thing Europe needs is more migration from Turkey into places like Switzerland, Austria, or Germany. Those countries aren't exactly naive...

Beyond the question of whether European citizens would even vote for this, if you actually followed politics, you’d realize that most top leaders are firmly AGAINST letting Turkey in—and they're pretty damn effective at making sure it stays that way. My take? There are already too many countries in the European Union, and the whole thing is starting to lose its purpose. For the US, we don't need more bureaucratic bloat. We need less crime and more honest politicians—that’s what actually matters...

Sarah James4 said:Turkey doesn't want to join the European Union, or rather, they want to but the EU won't have them. They have plenty of consumers without the EU, and honestly, all the European Union really needs right now is more Turkish workers living in places like Switzerland, Austria, or Germany. Those folks aren't stupid.

Beyond just whether EU citizens actually agree to this, if you really follow politics, you'd know which major leaders are standing firmly AGAINST Turkey joining—and they're pretty good at making their voices heard. My take? There are already too many countries in the European Union and it’s starting to lose its purpose. Plus, America doesn't need it. We need less crime and more honest politicians, and we'll be just fine.

If that's the case, why were they given a start date for negotiations, just like America was?

happygoose said:Why were they given a negotiation date then, if the US gets one too?

Because they’ll join the European Union at the exact same time as the US—which is to say, never, or perhaps when all the actual heavy hitters decide to bail out of an EU that won't even resemble itself anymore... Read between the lines. That specific date they handed out is nothing more than a distraction—just throwing sand in people's eyes. And as for economic ties? Please. The economy functions perfectly fine without all that posturing...

Long live the good times, though I wouldn't go so far as to say the economy looks great. Between the Euro/Dollar exchange rate and the recession hitting the European Union, things look shaky... and I definitely won't be singing praises about the state of the American economy right now. 😁

If we're joining the European Union, I personally don't mind Turkey at all. I don't see the problem. I can only imagine what other Western Europeans think about us and the rest of the former America joining the EU... it really makes you draw some parallels.

Sarah James4 said:Cheers to them, I guess—but regarding the economy, I wouldn't exactly be celebrating, considering the exchange rate between the Euro and the Dollar, not to mention the recession hitting the European Union... and as for the American economy and how well it's actually doing, I'd rather not go there...😁

If we're joining the European Union, personally, I don't mind Turkey, nor do I see why I should... I can only imagine what the rest of Western Europe thinks about the inclusion of America and other former America republics into the EU... one could certainly draw some parallels...

A classic mistake made by those pushing for a massive European Union is believing it acts as some kind of magic wand for everything. Unfortunately, a large part of Americans think the same—that simply joining the EU will automatically put more money in every single American's pocket.🙄 They tend to forget the fact that the politicians stay the same, the mindset stays the same, and so on... The whole process of America joining the EU and all the preparations involved (which, let's not forget, cost a fortune—money that America doesn't really have, and if it did, it would be smarter to invest it in healthcare, schools, or daycare...) will likely just leave a struggling America even more broke and heavily indebted. In the end, you're essentially getting a pig in a poke. And finally, I didn't say that *I* mind Turkey, but they aren't going to ask my opinion, are they? Or yours. Unless you happen to hold an EU passport. I don't view the EU as some gift from heaven, or think that nothing better could possibly happen to America.

Turkey reminds me somewhat of Marshall's America, or perhaps more accurately, Franco's Spain—all those parades, marches, and endless eulogies for the nation, centered around memorial sites. The difference is that while Ataturk passed away back in 1938, his cult of personality remains stubbornly alive. In our own history or in the Spanish case, such devotion rarely outlasted the leader himself. In Turkey, the military and its generals hold the ultimate veto power, which means we aren't exactly looking at a true democracy. The real question is whether Turkey can ever truly break free from the dogma and teachings of Ataturk
within any foreseeable timeframe without triggering an Islamic revolution or a full-scale civil war!
In the years following World War I, Ataturk enforced a radical secularization of Turkey, yet here we are eighty years later seeing women wearing hijabs again. And goodness knows what else they wear; meanwhile, in the West, people fight tooth and nail for the right to wear such things, because in Turkey, you don't stand a chance of getting into university or holding a government job if you're wearing those headcoverings... much like how you see them in Canada today, whereas back in the Marshall era, only old grandmothers would wear them... and that's what democracy is—you can't just forbid it!
I was recently watching a documentary filmed in Afghanistan somewhere in the late 60s or early 70s... men and women passing by dressed in Western styles, but today? It's like stepping back into the 15th century. Iran is the exact same story. It’s similar with the Turks; if the people were truly democratic, they would have the right to elect radical Islamists. Currently, the military is blocking that path, but how long can they keep fooling everyone with the promise of joining the European Union? They naively believe that overnight everyone will suddenly enjoy European wages and living standards. People are gullible; they see former guest workers coming home with money and think they'll all have it easy too. Turkey is a powder keg!
Back in the 1950s in Turkey, people actually lost their heads just for wearing a fez😲... it was banned under threat of death (which might explain why you rarely see fezzes among our Muslims compared to back in the day...
Turkey shouldn't be, and frankly won't be, a full member of the European Union because it simply doesn't belong to that cultural sphere. Honestly, Israel feels more like a European country than Turkey does; if we follow that logic, Israel should be admitted first... and then you could write home to say everything is ruined. We'd end up with a sort of continental "America-Europe," where you'd be sending your child or grandchild to guard the borders of a hypothetical North American-style union in Israel or Turkey😁... heaven forbid!
There is that old saying:
Don't trust a Turk as far as you can throw him...🙄

Megan Morales5 said:The big mistake people make when cheering for the European Union is thinking it’s some kind of magic wand. Honestly, plenty of Americans fall for this too—thinking joining up means everyone suddenly gets rich.🙄 They forget that politicians don't change, and neither does the underlying mindset. All the prep work for joining the EU costs a fortune, money that the US could much better spend on fixing healthcare, schools, or daycare centers. By the time we actually join, the debt incurred might leave us holding nothing but an empty bag. And look, I didn't say I have a problem with Turkey, but they won't ask my opinion anyway, right? Or yours. Unless you happen to have an EU passport. Joining isn't some miracle gift that solves everything for America.

I honestly have no idea how you decided I'm an EU supporter, but fine. If anything, I'd call myself an unrepentant euroskeptic.

We are talking about facts here, and one fact remains the negotiation date, regardless of how skeptical I am.

I just don't get why some people act so hostile toward certain countries. I see that exact same attitude used against America... even from Western Europe, where people seem to think being born there makes them superior to everyone else. Just a generalization, though.

The US has been lobbying for Turkey to join the European Union for several years now. It makes you wonder why... I mean, what does America actually gain from having Turkey as an EU member??

Just ask yourselves: who stands to benefit most from a weak European Union??

A Monetary Union for EU member states was already being planned back in the early 90s,
right when everything was falling apart during the wars. Which Secretary of State was visiting Bulgaria just one day before those American People's Army tanks started rolling...

I KNEW IT!

Russia!

Did I win?

Ashley Rogers4 said:I KNOW!

Russia!

Did I win?

WRONG, but you still get a prize,
a little something called garbage second best

What did I tell you? Now the bans, the warnings, the whole deal... it's starting.

little buddy

Seriously, after 24 years of hearing this from you, I can't even imagine what it sounds like anymore...

Ashley Rogers4 said:What did I tell you? Now the bans, the warnings, the whole bit... it's all starting...

Wait, what are you talking about? Warnings? Banning people??

all because of some award called Little Marshall's Kit ??

I’m honestly leaning toward Mexico joining the European Union while we stay out... because if that happens, in maybe ten years, they’ll just go ahead and establish a SAO Sao Shvabi over in Germany—leaving us alone and finally giving us some peace...

kika said:The interior of Turkey feels like another planet... totally stuck in the past.

Sure. And what would you call a rural part of Switzerland? 😁 We’d be in the European Union again in a heartbeat if we actually wanted to be.

Sarah James4 said:Look, I know what the EEC was. I used that term on purpose, regardless of how outdated it sounds, instead of saying the European Union. This is primarily an economic alliance. Do people honestly believe the EU is going to turn into a true federation?😕

Turkey should have joined the EEC rather than the EU. It would have functioned more like NAFTA: Americans tap into cheap labor in Mexico without being overwhelmed by them. That’s the kind of arrangement we needed in Europe regarding Turkey.