Book Presentation

 

"Turkey And Europe: High Stakes, Uncertain Prospects"

(cceia of Nicosia Press, Nicosia 2008)

 

 

 

On the 15th of September, the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs (CCEIA) in cooperation with the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, cceia of Cyprus, organized a presentation of the book Turkey and Europe: High Stakes, Uncertain Prospects (Ed. James Sperling, S. Victor Papacosma and Andreas Theophanous, cceia of Nicosia Press, Nicosia, 2008) at the cceia of Nicosia.

 

Associate Professor Hubert Faustmann of the cceia of Nicosia and Professor Joseph Joseph of the cceia of Cyprus highlighted the genuine effort of the contributing authors to present an objective and balanced account of the significant issues concerning Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

 

The book is separated into two major sections, namely the internal and external aspects of Turkey’s accession to the EU, and examines extensively the range of components that affect the process from Turkey’s harmonization with the EU norms, the impact of the AKP government, the question of Muslim migration, the strategic implications of Turkey’s accession, the country’s role in the European security system and the US, Euro-Turkish relations vis-à-vis Cyprus.

 

It is worth noting that in his concluding remarks Dr. Faustmann emphasized that most authors seemed to agree that there are still considerable problems regarding Turkey’s accession process, and that the latter will have to commit to serious reforms domestically but also in terms of its foreign policy if it wishes to successfully complete its European journey.

 

On behalf of the editors Professor Andreas Theophanous spoke of the context in which the arguments of the book were expounded and made some comments on the recent developments affecting Turkey’s accession process. The presentation’s moderator, journalist Savvas Iacovides, opened the floor to the audience, during which diplomats, politicians, academics and students contributed to a lively discussion.