The Republic of Turkey in Europe: Reconsidering the Luxembourg Exclusion

The EU's rebuff of Turkey's application for accession represents more than a missed opportunity to strengthen and deepen the relationship between these two related spheres. Indeed, the lack of finesse--the unnecessarily impolitic form of the rejection--propels Turkey in the opposite direction. The old assumption that relations with Europe were of primary importance is “subject to increasingly critical examination.” Acknowledging that Turkey may not be ready for accession in the next wave, the EU should have pursued some less antagonizing route. The premature decision to begin negotiations with Cyprus only intensifies the conflict.