"Why Europe Needs Turkey – Analysis
Written by: The Henry Jackson Society
April 29, 2011
By Ivelina Fedulova
With the world’s attention being turned towards Libya, its neighbours and the Middle East, it is not surprising that the media paid very little attention to the two EU enlargement meetings with Turkey and Croatia last week. After all, for most people, Croatia’s accession to the Union is a fait accompli, even more so now that it has concluded negotiations on two more chapters. Turkey’s accession, however, is believed to have stalled as there has been no progress in the process in the last year. This reinforces many people’s belief that Turkey will either never become an EU member or that it should not become one all together. Yet, the people of Europe should look past the ideological arguments against Turkey’s membership, which are often based on religion, culture, and history. With Europe’s global role constantly being challenged nowadays, allowing Turkey to join the Union would strengthen its security and defence, its foreign policy regarding Arab countries and would also ensure its energy security. The EU-27 need to recognise that Turkey need not necessarily be a threat to their interests, but could in fact help to augment their collective geopolitical influence going forwards, particularly with regards to energy security and their relationships in the Muslim world."
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