Turkey - Breakthrough or Break Down?

"Turkey is entering a critical year in which its prospects for EU membership have reached the point of breakthrough or break down," warn the political experts from the International Crisis Group (ICG). An interruption in the accession negotiations would be fatal, as resumption would require the ascent of all 27 EU states. Yet, views on a possible Turkish membership in the organization remain widely divergent.

During a recent trip to Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan clumsily decided to play the energy card, which did not go down well at all with his hosts. Erdogan warned that Ankara was in a position to block the EU's Nabucco project. The EU regards the construction of the gas pipeline as playing a central role in its attempts to find an alternative to gas supplies from Russia. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, reacted to Erdogan's statement with clear words – accession talks and energy security are two very different pairs of shoes. Erdogan quickly backed away from his threat."

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