"Turkey is not ready for Europe
Ömer Taspinar
Dear readership, please note that TE is publishing such an opinion. Hard times indeed !
If you are sitting in Brussels and looking at what is going on in Turkey, it is almost unavoidable that you will reach a sad conclusion: Turkey is simply not mature enough as a democracy to qualify for EU membership.
In the past, I used to think that the main challenge for Turkey was to become a 'liberal' democracy. If only Ankara could shed some of its illiberal tendencies, I believed, it would prove its political credentials as a first rate democracy and deserve EU membership. Yet now I can’t help but realize that the challenge for Turkish democracy is much more daunting than I thought. The issue is no longer whether Turkey can become more liberal. It is rather whether Turkey can maintain a semblance of democracy."
More:Turkey is not ready for Europe - Turquie Européenne - Wednesday 2 April 2008 - Actualités de la Turquie et traductions de la presse turque
