Professor Ben Tonra:

I think there is huge enlargement fatigue in the European Union. Reference was made earlier to British politicians and the media waiting at airports for the first flights of 2014 from Romania. That was an obscene situation to witness and some of the commentary has been grossly offensive and bordering on racist. However, it exemplifies the fact that there is an antipathy towards immigration and EU enlargement, also evident in the rise in populist parties in many parts of Europe. I am a big supporter of enlargement to include Turkey. We may have missed the window on that because the political dynamic in Turkey is shifting in a fundamental way now. We may have missed that boat but I would still be very positive and supportive of Turkey joining the EU. It is important, in the context of Turkey, to recall the basis for the European project. The European project came from a reconciliation between France and Germany, an historic continental reconciliation which laid the foundations for two generations of peace and security. If we are talking about resolving the problems in the Middle East or making a contribution to their resolution, having a predominantly Islamic country in the European Union would blow out of the water the entire idea of the EU being part of a crusade, being part of Christendom or being oppositional to the principles of Islam. To have a large secular Islamic country within the European Union would blow those arguments out of the water and could contribute to a fundamental change in the dynamic of conflicts within the Middle East.