Many in Europe believe Turkey should never join the EU; others think it is key to Europe's security. Here, a senior French parliamentarian, Pierre Lequiller, and the head of a European think-tank, Giles Merritt, present opposing views.
PIERRE LEQUILLER - AGAINST
I don't think this country should be a member of the European Union, and I have never thought so. I want a strong "political" Europe, able to speak with one voice in the world, and it won't be possible if Turkey becomes European.
The European Union can't only be a free trade area. It must become a political union, an actor in the international game.
Therefore, it must define its borders. We need a "neighbourhood" or "proximity" policy for countries beyond Bulgaria, Romania and the Western Balkans, not a membership policy.
Not wanting Turkey integrating in the European Union does not mean Europe is essentially a Christian club. Bosnia, a Muslim country, will join, at the right time.
Nor am I against commercial agreements and the EU's customs union with Turkey. I think that we should offer Turkey a privileged partnership. In future, this partnership will reinforce the strong relations existing between the EU and Turkey.
Negotiations with Turkey will start on 3 October. These will be very long and extremely difficult.
Today, nobody can say if Turkey will be able to carry out all the reforms which are necessary for it to become a member of the European Union. First and foremost, this would require a deep change of mentality.
Pierre Lequiller, Chairman of the French National Assembly's committee on Europe, Vice-President of the European People's Party, member of the UMP.
GILES MERRITT - FOR
Back in the mid-1980s I was fairly sceptical about Turkey's case for joining the European 'club'. But after the Berlin Wall fell, my views changed entirely.
In the uncertain post-Communist world, I became convinced that Western Europe's security and prosperity depended on bringing stability to the former Soviet satellite countries by admitting them to the EU. And I also felt that this new situation made it urgent to bring Turkey into the European bloc.
Turkey lies near the unruly Caucasus republics, the hotspots of Central Asia and, of course, the Middle East. It is a leading regional power that exerts a stabilising influence on those countries, and it is in Europe's long-term interest that Turkey should be firmly anchored into the EU.
Twenty years ago the case against Turkish membership was that we couldn't admit it, in Jacques Delors' words, to "our Christian club". Such prejudices still exist, but I think realists now see the religious issue very differently. Turkish membership could create a bridge between Europe and the Islamic world.
One last point on the economic advantages of bringing Turkey into the EU. By the time it would actually join, in say 2020, Europe's active workforce will be less than half its population, whereas Turkey's will be two-thirds.
We need their increasingly well-educated workers, and can benefit from the growing economic and industrial muscle of a country that will soon be as populous as Germany.
People who complain that the EU won't be the same once Turkey is in are living in a bygone age. The world is changing fast, and we must change with it.
Giles Merritt is Secretary General of Friends of Europe and Editor-in-Chief of Europe's World.
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