"Averting a crash on the European express
Turkey's application to join the European Union can still be salvaged, despite the opposition of rightwing populists.
The declaration in Brussels this week by the European commissioner responsible for negotiations on Turkey's application to join the EU that "there is still time to prevent a train crash" which would bring the talks to a sudden halt is good news. Olli Rehn knows in just five weeks time the European Commission must decide whether or not to recommend that membership negotiations with Turkey should continue or be called off. Little wonder then that the Turkish prime minister, Recep Erdogan, also found time this week to stop off en route from Washington to Ankara to lobby Tony Blair for continued support for Turkey's EU application. A great deal will hang on the final decision - to be taken by EU heads of government at their December summit in Brussels - about the entire future of Turkey's accession negotiations."
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