Dispute over EU membership for Turkey

At the EU-US summit in Prague US President Barack Obama did his best to promote full EU membership for Turkey. EU states criticise this position. The daily La Repubblica writes: "The French-German reaction was just as predictable as this message to Turkey shortly before the president's visit to the Bosporus was inevitable and opportune. But for Obama the Muslim world which he is now visiting was worth the risk of a confrontation with his strongest European allies. … Following hot on the heels of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Nato, which comes across as a holy Western alliance against the enemy Muslim East, the trip to Turkey was aimed at weakening this impression. … A refusal to allow Turkey to join the EU has far-reaching implications. It provokes resentment beyond the borders of Turkey in the Muslim world and makes it feel rejected."

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