Interview

Ambassador Fernández de la Peña:

Strategic partners in Europe

by Bernard KENNEDY

The commencement of talks on Turkey’s accession to the EU makes October a particularly appropriate month in which to interview Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, Ambassador of Spain to Ankara. Besides representing one of the leading EU capitals, Ambassador Fernández de la Peña has previously served as ambassador in two other candidate countries, Slovenia and Croatia. He is also well able to recall his own country’s EU membership negotiations. Our conversation covered a range of related topics including the level of Spanish support for Turkey’s EU membership, the EU’s expansion in the Balkans, the potential limits of the European project and dialogue in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. With respect to bilateral relations between Spain and Turkey, the Ambassador is hoping to sow the seeds of a strategic partnership.

Q  You have been working in Turkey for about one year now. How have you found it?

A  One year is time enough to get familiar but not to know the country in depth. It’s a very complex society with lots of layers. I was aware of that but perhaps I didn’t realise quite how complex it would be. It’s a permanent challenge. At the beginning, a Turkish interlocutor said to me, “I don’t know if you are going to like it or not, but you will never get bored.” It’s a vibrant lively country full of surprises. It is the consensus among diplomats here that this is one of the “places to be” at this particular moment.

Q  The question of Turkey’s accession to the European Union must have dominated your agenda over the past year...  

A  Yes the EU is one of the main axes of our relations with Turkey and we have had to devote a lot of work and energy to the convergence of Turkey with the EU. The decision of the European Council to begin accession talks with Turkey came two months after my arrival and the past year has been full of related events.

Q  Did you ever think that the talks would not start on October 3?

A  Not really. Knowing how the EU functions and how decision-making takes place among the member states – and also knowing how strong the will of Turkey to join the EU was, and the reforms they have been going through in the last three years - I had no doubt about the final outcome. Of course I was aware of the difficulties of the process, and I think this is going to be – let’s say - the “style” of the negotiating process of Turkey with the EU: it’s going to be full of ups and downs and dramatic moments, but in the end it is my deep conviction that common sense will always prevail, and the right decisions will be taken by both sides. And I think we witnessed that on December 17 last year and once again on October 3.

Q  Turkey regards Spain as one of its friends in the EU, with a relatively low level of opposition to Turkish membership. Is that a correct assumption?

A  Yes, there are good vibrations between the two countries. Spain is lending broad support to Turkey in its European aspirations. Without being too immodest, I can say that Spain is quite an exceptional case within the EU because there is a consensus between the main political parties, and there has been continuity in this support from successive governments of different political colours. There have been many opinion polls, and although the exact figures vary, there is a clear trend which shows that support for Turkish accession in Spain is high, and opposition very limited. I should add that Turkish accession is not an issue of heated dispute in Spain as it is in some other countries. In short, Spain presents a very solid, unitary face of support for Turkey and in that sense I am fortunate in my work because I have this national consensus behind me.

Q  What are the reasons for the support of the Spanish public?

A  Well, I can’t be sure, but what I gauge is that first of all Spain has a very good experience of relations with the EU. The Eurobarometer surveys regularly show that Spanish public opinion is one of the greatest believers in the EU. Then I think there is a sense of solidarity towards Turkey: we have been fortunate, so why not share this positive experience with others who are entitled to join? Spanish public opinion has also been positive towards other incoming members. This is in spite of the fact that Spain has so far been a net receiver of EU funds under the structural and agricultural policies, and expansion should cause it to lose this status… This generosity towards the rest of the world is one of the good things we have in Spanish society. We are also increasing our overseas aid, for example. We have attained a good level of prosperity and now we are showing solidarity. Thirdly, I think Spaniards possess a model of European integration which is inclusive and forward-looking.

Q  What are Spain’s interests in Turkey?

A  We share a geopolitical space and a source of affinity, which is the Mediterranean. This is not just a question of sharing a Mediterranean culture. It is also a geopolitical project. There is a great divide between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. To the north you have high prosperity and low fertility. To the south you have high unemployment and high fertility. It is an explosive combination. We have to pay much more attention to the Mediterranean because the security and stability of the EU depends on it. The challenge for Europe now comes from the south; we think that the entry of Turkey into the EU would be a very important asset for the EU in facing this challenge.

Turkey also borders strategic countries like Iran, Iraq and Syria. It has a role to play in the Middle East. We in Europe are focussing more and more on our neighbours in the Middle East and the southern Caucasus. You cannot have an island of stability in Europe if the neighbourhood is unstable, and we need Turkey for that purpose too.

Another issue which is going to be a big issue for Europe in the years ahead is coexistence with the Muslim world – how the Muslim world and the Western world are going to be able to live together and cooperate for a better world. We already have 15-20 million Muslims in Europe. Turkey is at a crossroads; it can play an instrumental role in trying to defuse misunderstandings between the two worlds. I think if we succeed in having a big Muslim country in the EU we will have taken a big step towards a better relationship between the West and the Muslim world.

Q  Can Turkey benefit from Spain’s experience in negotiating with the EU?

A  We had long and difficult negotiations over a period of eight years. Turkish officials are aware of this. Moreover, we had problems in some of the same areas which will confront Turkey, such as free circulation of workers and agricultural policy. We were able to overcome the difficulties in the end because it was so important to be in the EU. Turkey’s negotiations are going to be even longer and tougher. I think Turkey can learn from what we got wrong and what we got right. Out experience is quite exportable and we are willing to share it.

Q  Following the EU’s decision on Croatia, do you think the integration of the Balkan countries into the EU is now well on course?

A  I think it has always been on course. I was at Dayton ten years ago and we could see very well that the only lasting solution was a European perspective. The Balkans are our close neighbourhood – our “back yard” – and it is an EU responsibility to try to promote stability in the Balkans. So the conviction of European leaders is that these countries have to have a European perspective.

Croatia was very well prepared to be a candidate member of the EU and the reasons why it was not included in the last enlargement were related more to the so-called Yugoslav wars and the issue of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia (ICTY) than to the degree of preparation or preparedness of Croatia. For the rest of the Balkans it will be a gradual process but I think that the future of those countries lies with the EU.

At the moment we have a territorial discontinuity between Greece and Slovenia. And we have to fill it. The countries in question will have to meet the Copenhagen Criteria, and I am not sure what the calendar for their entry into the EU will be, but I am sure that in the end they will enter it. This has been the prospect ever since the EU decided to encompass the whole of Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But of course we have to be able to combine the expansion of Europe with the intensity of the European project.

Q  So what are the limits of European integration?

A  Only the future will tell. I think this is a static question which demands a dynamic response. For one thing, Europe is not only a matter of geography; it is also a geopolitical project of shared values. Then there is also the limit of the so-called absorption capacity. We cannot lose efficiency on the road of enlargement. This is a very political issue. The EU is one of the best developments in European history. Of course European nations had illustrious histories before that, but we were living in perpetual conflict among ourselves. And finally after the Second World War, which was a civil war, the founding members of the EU saw clearly that we needed a different kind of relationship. Now we have lived in peace for fifty years and achieved economic prosperity. So all Europeans have a vested interest in preserving the integrity of the European project.

Q  How would you assess Spain’s economic interests in Turkey?

A  Economically, Turkey has entered a virtuous circle and appears to be achieving macroeconomic stability, sound fiscal policy and sustainable growth with the help of the IMF and of the EU accession process. I hope that this trend will be consolidated further. This means a growing market and more business opportunities for Spain. The volume of trade between Spain and Turkey has risen to a reasonable level. Last year it was €5 billion. Turkey is one of our ten largest trading partners and vice versa. I think these figures can grow further. The economic relationship is to my mind less satisfactory. At one time, Spanish firms invested mainly in Spanish-speaking countries but during the past five years they have diversified into Eastern Europe, China and elsewhere. I would like to see Turkey included among their favourite places for foreign investment. One promising sector is the proposed high speed train between Ankara and Istanbul. We are also active in waste water projects in several cities. Major investments will be needed in this sector if Turkey is to improve its environmental standards to align itself with the EU acquis.

Q  Are you also aiming to promote Spanish language and culture in Turkey?

A  We have opened a Cervantes Institute in Istanbul, which is doing a fine job. I hope we will do something in Ankara in the future. We are seeing a growing interest in learning Spanish in Turkey, and we are trying to help as much as we can. But there is so much demand worldwide and our resources are limited.

Q  Terrorism has been an important issue for both Spain and Turkey…

A  Spain has been fighting against terrorism for thirty years. We have had about 1,000 victims. Recently we have encountered the so-called jihadist terrorism, which is more global and more lethal. So we understand the suffering of this country and we feel a deep sympathy towards the Turks.

We have been fighting terorrism under some guiding principles. You can’t change the rule of law. You need international cooperation. And you need a resistant civil society, since terrorism can rapidly damage the fabric of society.

Q  Do different forms of terrorism require different responses?

A  I wouldn’t say so. Terrorism is terrorism. Yes, you have to take into account different contexts. But the use of violence is unjustified under any circumstances as a means or vehicle of political expression. That’s universal.

Q  What is your ambition for the rest of your posting in Ankara?

A  I believe that Turkey and Spain have important common interests and my ambition would be to make them strategic partners, within the EU, in all fields. Let’s see how much of this ambition I am able to realise within my time here…

(DIPLOMAT  -  October 2005  -  Ankara)