Turkey and the European Union: Date with Destiny

Turkey has long wanted to join the European Union, last year it was finally told talks could start this month. In the meantime, the political climate has cooled with the rejection by France and the Netherlands of the European draft constitution and the rise of politicians sceptical about Turkey’s case. Now a new idea is on the table and it is well short of Ankara’s aspirations.

The World Today Published 1 October 2005 Updated 15 October 2020 4 minute READ

Fadi Hakura

Former Consulting Fellow, Europe Programme

Turkey’s date with European Union destiny is fast approaching with accession negotiations scheduled to begin on October 3.

Opponents, principally aspirant German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and undeclared French presidential candidate and Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, are proposing the idea of privileged partnership as a substitute for membership.

Germany’s federal elections have laced this lethal cocktail of speculation and posturing. Merkel sent a letter to her European Christian Democrat counterparts urging rejection of Turkish membership. French President Jacques Chirac suddenly became concerned about Turkish ‘failure’ to recognise the Greek part of Cyprus.

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