"Turkish accession to EU would be a recipe for paralysis
By Keith Tunstall
Published: December 14 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 14 2004 02:00
From Mr Keith Tunstall.
Sir, Philip Stephens is a percipient observer of the European scene and someone we can rely on for a positive, though unglazed, comment. However, I looked in vain in his article 'Europe must open its eyes and look to the future' (December 10) for any actual reason why Turkey should join the European Union.
His assertion that those who advocate Turkey's case are 'looking to the future' while those who would oppose it are guilty of mere 'nostalgia' is not the sort of acute analysis we have come to expect. It is not at all clear why he believes that 'the unification of Europe has recast the purpose of the EU'. The purpose of the EU is surely still peace and prosperity. The other players in the world may change. The challenges around us do indeed change. But the purpose of the peoples of Europe in coming together remains the same. We reject war between ourselves and in furtherance of that aim and for its own sake we nourish the means to prosperity."
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