"‘Admitting Turkey Will Be a Test of How Secular the EU Is’
By Soner Cagaptay
DW-WORLD.DE, October 4, 2006
DW-WORLD.DE: The United States has always been a strong advocate of Turkey joining the European Union. Europe agreed to formally begin accession talks a year ago, but the tide of public opinion, especially in Germany and France, is against Turkey. At best, Europeans view the US as meddling in EU internal affairs, since the decision to admit Turkey is up to all 25, soon to be 27 members (Bulgaria and Romania are set to join in 2007). Why should Turkey's status in Europe matter to the Americans?
Soner Cagaptay: Regardless of what European leaders and bureaucrats say publicly about internal meddling, US support for Turkey does make an enormous difference behind closed doors. Without American support, Turkey would not be where it is today; it would have never reached the point of starting accession talks with the EU last year"
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