Madariaga - College of Europe Foundation

Turkey in Europe: In Whose Interest? 

Is it in the EU's interest to enlarge to Turkey and is it in Turkey's interest to integrate within the EU? Would a 'privileged partnership' be a good compromise? Would it be deemed acceptable by Turkey, who obtained the status of candidate country in December 1999, forty years after it first expressed its wish to be considered for membership? Can the EU enlarge to a country as important as Turkey without endangering its political cohesion at a fragile moment in its integration process?

This Citizen's Controversy with Elie Barnavi, historian, Scientific Director of the Museum of Europe, former Israeli Ambassador to France, and Hélène Flautre, MEP (Greens / EFA), Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, was held on 10 June 2010 at the Economic and Social Council, Brussels.

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