Turkey's disillusionment with the EU

At a meeting in Ankara the EU has called on Turkey to push forward its stalled reforms. Kai Strittmatter reports that the demand has met with the bitter ridicule of liberal and pro-European Turks in particular. He goes on to explain that the EU has lost much of its appeal for Turkey. "The turbulence in the country, the wave of nationalism, the restrictions on civil rights, the return of the military to politics - it's no coincidence that all this has gone hand in hand with a sense of disillusionment regarding the EU, Angela Merkel's blunders and the anti-Turkish rhetoric of Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2005, Turkey was promised fair negotiations; now it sees this promise called into question day after day."

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