DER SPIEGEL Op-Ed, by
Henrik Müller
Why Turkiye and Ukraine could save the EU - or blow it up
What would happen if Ukraine and Turkiye joined the EU? In one fell swoop, the Union would grow by a third. Europe could become a global power factor. But the dangers would be great.
Was passiert, wenn die Ukraine und die Türkei der EU beitreten? Auf einen Schlag würde die Union um ein Drittel größer. Europa könnte zum globalen Machtfaktor werden. Doch die Gefahren wären groß.
www.spiegel.de
In an article by German economist Henrik Müller published in the German Spiegel magazine, it was stated that if Turkiye and Ukraine become EU members, the Union could become a global power factor and an important actor on the world stage.
EUROPE BECOMES A GLOBAL POWER IF TURKIYE JOINS
In the article analyzing the possible EU membership of Turkiye and Ukraine, it was assessed that if both countries become members, the EU would grow by one third in terms of area and "Europe could thus become a global power factor, an important actor on the world stage."
Pointing out that the EU could have two more large member states within 10 years, along with some small candidate countries in the Balkans, the following assessments were made:
"Turkiye already has a larger population than Germany and continues to grow demographically in a very dynamic way. Turkiye also has a geographical area about twice the size of Germany. Ukraine, on the other hand, is relatively sparsely populated and covers a larger land area than France, the largest EU country by area. If both countries were to join the Union, the EU would quickly expand its area by a third and its population by a quarter. It would be a mega-expansion that would eclipse anything that has happened in the process of European integration since the 1950s."
DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE CAN BE SLOWS
Pointing to Turkiye's advantage of having a young population, which is expected to last for a long time, the article said: "In today's EU countries, the situation is completely different and as a union we are facing serious demographic challenges. Country populations are aging and in many places the number of people of working age is falling. Significant areas in Eastern and Southern Europe are almost abandoned. There is an acute labor shortage. In this sense, Turkiye's possible EU membership could help the EU to soften its demographic decline. In turn, the accession perspective could help Turkiye overcome its structural problems and integrate itself into the wider European community of values and internal market. This is potentially a big win for both sides."
The article argues that Turkiye, like Hungary and Poland, has problems in areas such as the rule of law and the economy, and points out that Turkiye would be the most populous EU country in a possible accession and would have a corresponding weight in EU decisions, making Ankara a power factor comparable to Berlin and Paris.
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https://m5dergi.com/one-cikan/alman-medyasi-speigel-turkiye-birlige-katilirsa-kuresel-guc-oluruz/