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Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Accession Bid Theater

Grant me that this is funny:

Turkey's foreign minister says his country will accelerate reforms linked to its bid to join the European Union, and that it wants the 28-nation bloc to respond positively to its efforts.

Europe has been stiff-arming Turkey's bid to join the EU for a long time out of fear of bringing Turkey's Moslem population within the EUs border-less travel system for member states. And that barrier to joining existed when Turkey was a secular state; and before it had a role in funneling a large number of Moslem young men fleeing Syria (and then others) to Europe.

What chance is there that the EU will admit Erdogan's newly and increasingly Islamist Turkey?

Heck, what are the chances that Erdogan's Turkey will actually carry out reforms that the EU wants?

Honestly, the EU just wants to drag out discussions until Turkey throws up its hands and withdraws its bid to join the EU, thus allowing the Europeans to deny that they are keeping Turkey out because it is an Islamic country.