27/09/2005 10:50:06 am
A Bumpy Road. The number of obstacles for Turkey on the way to the EU will be huge indeed. The diplomatic games and political show-offs that surround the upcoming start of negotiations provide good examples. And what will not happen during, say, a decade of negotiations? Parties in Western European countries will be tempted indeed to gain votes by being tough on Turkey. The only positive thing about a German government - as now proposed by Schröder - between the SPD and CDU (and not only a centre-right one) would be that the SPD is very positive to Turkish EU entry. Apparently, now Austria proposes that Croatia should start negotiations at the same time. Hard to say whether this is intended to make it harder for Turkey to start or make it easier for Croatia. In the latter case, a good proposal. The way EU handles Turkey will determine not only much of the future for Europe but for the relations between the Western world and and Islam.