Turkey’s Middle Eastern Road to Europe
While EU membership looks more distant than ever to Turkey's leaders and public, the country has boldly stepped up its engagement with the Middle East, scoring some notable diplomatic successes. Indeed, Turkey is now firmly set to become a regional power - a development that the EU would be wise to use to its advantage by reviving the accession process.
ISTANBUL – Just a few years ago, Europe headed Turkey’s agenda. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s newly elected government had embarked on a series of ambitious reforms to meet the European Union’s political criteria for membership. At the end of 2004, the EU decided to initiate accession talks.