Interview

Ambassador Wolf-Ruthart Born: A special embassy

by Bernard Kennedy

A lawyer by profession, an inveterate traveller, a patron of the arts, and a history addict with a taste for the oriental in carpets and civilisations… These are just some of the many dimensions of Dr. Wolf-Ruthart Born: He is at the same time a diplomat whose career has taken him as far afield as Sudan, Pretoria and Buenos Aires. And since July 2003 he has been Germany’s Ambassador to Turkey. The job leaves no time for playing the guitar, but the Ambassador clearly finds it both challenging and rewarding. DIPLOMAT  spoke to him about recent developments in Turkey-EU ties, the work of his Embassy and the extraordinary relationship which exists between Turkey and the Federal Republic.

Q   You have spent almost exactly two years as ambassador to Turkey now. Did you also have previous experience of Turkey?

A   Yes. My previous post was as Ambassador to Mexico for four years. But before that I spent seven years in two different positions in the legal and consular department, where I had a lot of contact with Turkey. All the nationality issues, all the questions of re-admission, crime-related issues, political asylum… all these crossed my desk, not to mention Kaplan and Öcalan. So I have been in touch with what’s going on in Turkey for a long time. I consider myself to be something of an “old Turk”.

Q   What do you think have you achieved in your two years here?

A   Well I don’t like to personalise. We work as a team. It is a question of continuity not personal interests. I think we have kept relations with Turkey and Germany at the highest level. Of course we have incredibly close relations. About three million people of Turkish descent live in Germany, of whom 700,000-800,000 have acquired German citizenship, so statistically speaking maybe 2.2-2.3 million are still Turkish nationals There are a couple of hundred thousand dual nationals whom we would consider to be Germans. Whatever happens in Turkish politics here is also reflected in German politics to a certain degree. There are 100,000 mixed marriages. This is really very special. We are also Turkey’s largest trading partner and one of the largest foreign investors. Our German Turks are investing in Germany too, in 60,000 small, medium-sized and in some cases large businesses. We have close cultural relations, and we are also the largest nation of origin for Turkish tourism; the number of German visitors may surpass 4,000,000 this year.

Q   Visa applications might be one area…

A   Yes that was one achievement but I would attribute that to the teamwork of my colleagues at the Consulate. In February they introduced the “data system” which our colleagues at the Consul General in Istanbul had already tried out. It means you get an appointment and information by telephone. It’s done by outsourcing. It’s a marvellous system and it has worked so well that all the queues have disappeared. People just come ten minutes early and within an hour the application is processed and we can send their passports by UPS. Between 80% and 90% do get visas and so we have a very high success rate. I have asked people sitting in the waiting room whether they are satisfied with the customer service - because we are service-oriented – and the answer is always. “Why didn’t you do it before?” So anyway that is visible progress which affects individuals.

Q   How do you and the Embassy divide your efforts between all the various tasks?

A   It’s very difficult to attach percentages to the various items. For example, if the Federal Chancellor is coming with a big economic delegation, then of course the preparations and implementation take up almost 100% of your time. We get many delegations. Within the past two years the Chancellor has visited Turkey three times and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other ministers have visited on various occasions. I guess last year saw the most intense exchange of visitors in both directions. More generally, we certainly concentrate on politics a lot. Like everybody else, we follow Turkish-European and European-Turkish relations very closely. But consular and visa issues are also important; they are political too because they have an immediate impact on the lives of people. Then there are cultural relations. We have got German schools here and there are Turkish schools which educate in the German language. We have got three Goethe institutes as well as cultural associations.

If you ask for a little item on which I’ve been working personally I would mention the creation of a cultural foundation of German and Turkish business. This embryonic organisation is about to spring to life. The money has been raised and we hope to obtain the necessary legal judgement and to be able to start work to intensify certain aspects of our cultural co-operation soon.

Q   The past few months have been an interesting time, first the euphoria about Turkey getting a date for EU accession talks and then recently perhaps some disappointments…

A   I must say I do not share this recent despondency. One has to look at the realistic schedule and proceed step by step. The next step of course is October 3. I think everybody stands firm that we do start negotiations on October 3, unless something very unforeseen occurs. Then we will see how the reform process continues and how the implementation of the various chapters of the acquis proceeds. So in that sense I remain realistically optimistic. The goal is membership but it is an open-ended process. It is up to Turkey whether she wishes to become a member or not. Since the horizon is far in the future I would not give a forecast now. The important thing is that we do start and that Turkey continues on her path to further democratisation, modernisation and improvement of the lot of the Turkish nation.

Q   Do you feel a sense of despondency around you?

A   Let me comment on one item for instance. Yes it’s certainly not a good omen that we could not agree on the finances of the European Union at the last summit. But again let’s be realistic. There is still time for an agreement. We have the British and Austrian presidencies ahead, and we have until 2006 to decide. It would have been nice to have decided now but within the European Union and European Community we have always managed to find a compromise in the past. So I am fairly optimistic that we will also manage to find a compromise on the financial issues. Normally it happens at the last minute. This is European procedure.

Q   What about the European Constitution?

A   I would have liked to see the constitution being approved. At the last European Council meeting, there were two opinions. One group said ‘Let’s continue the ratification process according to national procedures’, and the other said ‘Let’s interrupt it’. Now I would rather belong to the first group and say, ‘Let’s continue and see how many of the 25 ratify it’. I think it would be a majority and then we could take up the issue again even in those countries which for the moment have not ratified. There are other options. For instance, the fundamental charter has been on the table for many years and this charter could very easily be adopted separately. But I don’t think one should just tear up the Constitution.

Q   How is all this affecting you in your work?

A   Well of course you read everything that is said and all the decisions that are taken. As a European who has been working with European issues for many years, I wouldn’t go so far as to say all this is normal, but it’s part of the game. There is no cause for despair. I think we will always get our act together but of course we have to think a little bit deeper on the issue of past enlargement and whether we have digested it, and how to proceed with what we call vertiefung und erweiterung - deepening and enlargement. Sometimes the capacity is not sufficient to do both things at the same time and we have to proceed according to our capacity and the level of political will. Public opinion is an important factor in the possibility of doing things politically.

Q   If there are uncertainties in Turkey-EU relations, do relations between Turkey and Germany also suffer?

A   No. I don’t think so. The two are closely interconnected - there is no doubt about that. Chancellor Schroeder has very strongly backed Turkey on its European path, and this has helped to intensify bilateral relations. But the odd hiccough in relations with the European Union does not necessarily have a negative impact on bilateral relations, because these relations are so strong, so historical, so fundamental that one should be able to differentiate between one issue and the other. As I described at the beginning, bilateral relations are extremely close in the political field, the economic field, the cultural field and the human field. I suppose we are the nation which is most closely related with Turkey.

Q   The recent Armenian resolution in the German parliament suggests there are still some misunderstandings…

A   I would say we do understand each other’s concepts. We are very much aware of the sensitivities of Turkey. And I am sure you have observed that the reaction in Turkey was a fairly – how should I put it? - realistic one. The Armenian resolution will not cast more than a passing small shadow on our relations – not even a shadow.

Q   In practice, how do you cooperate with other EU embassies and the Commission delegation in Ankara?

A   We have a very regular intensive dialogue with the other ambassadors of the EU. We meet at least once a month under the chairmanship of the acting presidency. During the Dutch and Luxembourg presidency this was taken care of by my Dutch colleague Ambassador Sjoerd Gosses. He did a marvellous job and I must thank him for all the efforts he has undertaken. There is a calendar of similar meetings at all functions and levels: head of missions, deputy heads of missions, economic counsellors, consular officers… The EU Commission also takes part in these meetings. This is standard procedure worldwide.

Q   What kinds of issues do you cooperate on?

A   When it comes to the issue of EU negotiations it is the Commission which is mostly involved in preparing all the documents and liaising very closely with Brussels. I would say the most important issue on which we exchange views is the reform process in Turkey. We follow this very closely and analyse it and weigh it against the acquis. In this way we contribute directly or indirectly to the report which is drawn up in Brussels. And then we brief each other on our bilateral relations - for example if there has been an official visit you tell your colleagues about what has been discussed. In economic terms we have mutual interests, for instance in making sure that the customs union regulations are being observed in Turkey. This is something which affects industries and businesses in several EU member countries. Sometimes we undertake common demarches in other respects – not necessarily all together.

Q   I know that meetings are also held between the EU ambassadors and the Foreign Minister or even the Prime Minister. Is this also a standard procedure? Do you find this a useful form of diplomacy?

A   Well they host us for dinners and lunches. This is done in all capitals in one way or another. For example our Minister or Undersecretary meets regularly with EU ambassadors in Berlin. In some capitals the dialogue may be more intensive than in others. Given the very particular situation in which Turkey finds herself, particularly after securing the date of October 3, I think it’s only natural for us to exchange views on a regular basis at the highest level possible. This way you obtain the political view of the decision-makers in government.

Q   How has the possibility of elections in Germany affected you at the Embassy?

A   In terms of visitors coming we have had a hiatus because of political developments in Germany. But once that is a little clearer, we will continue our political exchanges, with visitors coming and going in both directions. Economic relations continue unaffected. I have just taken part in the opening ceremony for an additional investment by Daimler Chrysler, which was opened by Prime Minister Erdoğan.  Many, many German companies go on investing here. We are at the height of the tourism season so you see Germans everywhere. Our cultural cooperation continues. So it’s business as usual in all these respects.

Q   What else is on your agenda going forward?

A   We will go on following the practical implementation of the reform process. This is one of our major tasks…  Then there are so many areas of cooperation. If we look at international relations outside the European Union, we have cooperated very closely with the Turkish armed forces in Afghanistan and we continue to do so. We have a common approach in trying to help stabilize Iraq in its democratisation efforts. Both Germans and Turks are concerned about the nuclear issue in Iran. We are a member of the group of three EU nations seeking to convince our Iranian partners not to build nuclear devices for non-peaceful purposes.

Q   How is the Turkish community in Germany getting on?

A   I think we have made headway in the process of integration but there is still some way to go. There are German members of the Bundestag who are of Turkish origin, and increasing numbers of political representatives at the regional and municipal level. We have got Turkish doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs. This is our new community. They have enriched the German cultural scene as well as the culinary variety. Tarkan is possibly one of the most famous singers. In the cinema, Fatih Akın is one of the famous directors and sometimes touches on these bilateral issues. Novelist Orhan Pamuk is nominated for various prizes in Germany, where he is probably even more widely read than in Turkey.

Q   How do you find living and working in Ankara?

A   I would say Ankara keeps you very busy. Access is very easy. The doors are open. Our Turkish colleagues are very friendly and forthcoming. They do give you the information you are asking for. In this context I would like to express my gratitude to the staff of the Foreign Ministry in particular and also to members of other departments. People in general are very friendly, very hospitable. There are ways in which Istanbul is still the secret capital – the centre of cultural and business life. But I think Ankara is an easy place to live. The diplomatic community here is very closely knit. You meet colleagues from other embassies every day. In human terms it’s easy to live here and in professional terms certainly challenging.

Q   Is there anything else you would like to add?

A   We have a very good team at the Embassy. I would like to express my thanks to all of them. Two-thirds are of Turkish origin. This cultural mix makes it a very special embassy. Not many of our embassies would have such a high proportion. Without them we couldn’t do our job. This is also an expression of the very good relationship between the two countries. This is one of the top ten German embassies around the world in size and we think it’s a very special one. But of course it’s for others to judge how we are doing.

(DIPLOMAT  -  July 2005  -  Ankara)