For the compltete report in The Northern Echo click on this link
Can Turkey Come On Side
Turkey may enjoy being part of European football, but there's still along way to go before it can join the EU club. Scott Wilson examines the controversy over its EU membership bid. When Turkish side Fenerbahce took on Newcastle United in the group stage of the UEFA Cup last night, little was made of their right to compete in one of European football's premier club competitions.
When it comes to politics, however, things are rather different. Turkey's traditionally problematic relationship with the European Union is arguably the biggest challenge facing the Union's leaders as they look to realign themselves to tackle a world in which the centres of economic and cultural power are shifting. To some, including the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the prospect of Turkey becoming a full EU member is an affirmation of Europe's ability to embrace and manage change; to draw in states and peoples who might otherwise have been seen as a threat to European stability.
But to others, most notably in the core EU countries of France and Germany, Turkish entry is seen as the beginning of the end for Europe, an admission that the values and culture that had previously defined what it meant to be European are no longer a given.
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