The Turkey conundrum
Published on Dec. 3, 2016
The European Parliament voted Nov. 24 to suspend accession negotiations with Turkey. These have been ongoing for 29 years, but have been kept from completion — and Turkish membership in the European Union — by the hurdles the E.U. has in place for Turkey to cross. The E.U. needs Turkish labor, and also could be well-served by Turkey as an E.U. member as a bridge between it and Muslim countries to the east in Asia. At the same time, there is resistance among some E.U. members to the idea of a large, predominantly Muslim state being added to the E.U., comprised largely of states that consider themselves Christian.
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