"After years of 'yes if'
While Europe has wavered, pressure from within has liberalised Turkey
Jonathan Steele in Istanbul
Friday October 22, 2004
The Guardian
Suspicion and impatience still hang heavy over this most European of Turkish cities in spite of the best report on EU entry that Turkey has ever received. The European commission has just recommended that when Europe's leaders hold their next summit in December, they should decide to open accession negotiations at last. Though the talks themselves will take years, as happens with every applicant, Turkey's decades-long wait in the EU's anteroom appears almost over. "
More: Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | After years of 'yes if'