© the eyeranian

Oh, to be European!

"The prospect of Turkish EU membership poses a test of the very fabric of the bloc and cuts to the heart of what it means to be European". I don't know how to translate these words of French President Jacques Chirac.

I can't brush it aside as something about the unique geography of Turkey and being only partly inside boundaries of Europe, as this has never been an issue up to now and rest of Europe has always allowed the Turks to consider themselves European. It can't be because of language or unique cultural traits of the Turks either. After all, is Turkey THAT different from Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Latvia (all current members) or Bulgaria and Romania (soon joining)? Don't bring up the "human rights" record either as he isn't pointing to that specific argument (which EU is forcing on different fronts), but is making a statement that sounds far more broad in scope.

Hate to say it, but could it be that most Turks consider themselves Muslim and this just doesn't fit too well with the "fabric" of "being European"?

Posted by Pedram at October 7, 2005 09:16 PM