Turkey cites prejudice in delay of bid to join EU
Turkey will press ahead with its bid to join the European Union despite frustrations with delays it sees in part as a byproduct of anti-Muslim prejudice, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s chief adviser told The Washington Times.
“[The EU has] laid out certain principles, and we have looked at those principles and on the basis of those principles, we said, ‘All right, we want to become part of your club,’” the adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, said in an interview. “But now in the middle of the soccer game, as the prime minister says in his favorite metaphor, ‘You’re changing the penalty rules.’”
Mr. Erdogan‘s Justice and Development Party (AKP) made joining the EU a top priority after it swept to power in 2002 and opened accession talks in December 2004, but the effort stalled even as Turkey implemented democratic reforms and saw unprecedented economic growth.
Both the Bush and Obama administrations have backed Turkey‘s bid. But inside Europe, the notion of an increasingly religious Muslim nation joining a club of secular countries with Christian roots has ignited fierce debates about European identity at a time when many EU member states are struggling to integrate growing Muslim minorities. Culturalist opponents of Ankara’s bid note that if demographic trends persist, Turkey would soon overtake Germany as the most populous EU member.
