Egemen Bağış as the chief negotiator

Without forgetting the fact that the admission of one candidate country to the EU requires the contribution of all political parties, nongovernmental organizations, the media and etc., we should once again underscore the role of the chief negotiator to push the country for the membership.

Along with other prominent journalists, we had the opportunity to listen to Bağış last week for around two hours at a luncheon he hosted for the Ankara representatives of the media outlets. He was frank, outspoken in conveying his political messages but at the same time was poor in giving the technical dimension of the negotiations. Perhaps, it was speaking for itself, in the meaning that "the political side of the negotiations was well in front of its technicality due to both sides’, Turkey and the EU’s, preferences." During the meeting, a colleague advised Bağış to drive the technical aspect of the negotiations forward to create "a better environment for consensus among different political parties," and to refrain from accusing former governments and politicians for the postponement of the decades-old talks with the EU.

"I am a politician. It’s my nature. I am a member of a political party that received the votes of nearly 18 million people in the elections," Bağış replied, without hiding his discomfort with the question. "As for the technical aspects of the talks, our ambassadors and technocrats are already working very successfully É I would disrespect both our bureaucrats and politicians if I would engage in its technicality," he added.

We do of course respect how Bağış categorizes himself and his duties but we do consider that a great portion of the problem with the sustainability of the negotiations lies in there. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999 and a negotiating candidate since 2005. Putting aside the Cyprus problem and its side effects, Turkey’s process is now a technical one and requires a lot of attention and political engagement.

In his capacity, Mr. Bağış has to become the architect of this comprehensive engagement, securing the contribution of all segments of society for the EU membership. He should not be divisive but embracing them. Of course, it takes two to tango: those who feel responsible for the modernization of this country should back Bağış and be open for an open dialogue in this end.

Apart from these points, what I have often heard from the foreign diplomats whose countries have recently joined the EU was that their chief negotiators have become somehow "one of the most hated people in their respective countries." The reason was that the negotiators were putting too much pressure on the cabinet members and bureaucrats to speed up the works for overcoming the benchmarks required to open new negotiation chapters. We sure don’t have to exaggerate and expect the same attitude from our chief negotiator. But we are right in increasing the bar for Bağış, considering his good relationship with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a very suitable tool for speeding up the pace of the talks.

Interesting information Bağış has shared with us was the reason why the government has postponed the amendment of the Law on Trade Unions, a benchmark to open the chapter on social policies. According to Bağış, all relevant parties, the workers’ unions, the employers’ unions, trade chambers and etc. agreed to postpone talks in order not to cause a new tension in the country, especially at a time when the country was dealing with an economic crisis. "We have respected to their decisions," Bağış stated. There will be more and more of these sorts of dilemmas in the future, as Turkey will have to face harder chapters. Bağış should wisely navigate this process and should be convincing all concerned parties that "the entire country should focus on not today’s interests but of the future’s." We’ll sure discuss the modalities of the law on trade unions, and perhaps there will be a lot of tension but postponement will not be a remedy.

Transition processes are not easy times. That could only be successful with a healthy communication strategy that would include all parts of the society to the process, making clear that sooner is better. That’s what we could expect from Bağış as chief negotiator.