5 January 2010
by Hugh Pope
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EU and Turkey Edge Back from the Brink

Turkey’s friends in Europe have won an important argument. The governments of France and Germany have stopped advocating a “privileged partnership” to replace the long-promised goal of EU membership for Turkey.The concept was always a short-term pandering to Europeans’ fears … Continue reading

26 March 2009
by Sabine Freizer
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From the Ballot Box to Brussels

Towns and cities across Turkey are festooned with political party paraphernalia as the country’s main political parties go all out in the final days of the 29 March municipal elections campaign. To an outsider the intensity of party leader involvement, … Continue reading

23 February 2009
by Hugh Pope
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Setting the Stage

Turkey has been converging formally with the European Union and its predecessors since it signed an association agreement in 1963, the same year the dispute between Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Turkey and Greece over Cyprus became both a cause and … Continue reading