Should Turkey be allowed to join the EU?

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by laurentius
Ollie: Americans are lobbying for turkey because it would be americas greatest friend in the EU. Turkeys army is practically funded by the US. To them it would be "our (paid)guy" in the union.

Well, that's another good reason to keep them out. The "lapdogs" UK and Poland is enough.

And how can US afford to pay other countries armies when they barely have money for thier own? As if the national debt wasn't huge already.

[Az]

The US national debt is actually quite ok. They like to moan about it a lot, but it's not that big. IIRC, it's around 7 tril USD. US GDP is around 10 tril?

There are worse.

[Dr Strangelove]

I say go ahead and let them in. Given the current rate of Turkish migration and the sub-replacement level of the birth rates in the nations of Europe, most of the players in the EU will be adopting Sharia law by the end of this century. You might as well be nice to them now or suffer the consequences later.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Azazel
Many democracies have evolved from autocracies.

The UK being one.

[axi]

The UK being one.

Cromwell had to chop the King's head off once and lead a bloody civil war, so that the UK would eventually become one parliamentary monarchy. Still the UK is fathoms less democratic than, say, France which got rid of monarchy alltogether.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
I say go ahead and let them in. Given the current rate of Turkish migration and the sub-replacement level of the birth rates in the nations of Europe, most of the players in the EU will be adopting Sharia law by the end of this century. You might as well be nice to them now or suffer the consequences later.

Do you have any statistics to back up this extraordinary claim? Americans and Israelis like spouting off about the supposed Islamic takeover of Europe, but it's simply not going to happen, frankly, unless Europeans cease having children completely.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Sandman


Do you have any statistics to back up this extraordinary claim? Americans and Israelis like spouting off about the supposed Islamic takeover of Europe, but it's simply not going to happen, frankly, unless Europeans cease having children completely.

Besides, culture isn't genetic. Even if the population percentage of 'muslims' (read Turks) increased due to migration I doubt they would be noticeably more 'unEuropean' or 'dissecular' than 'native' Europeans.

[Drake Tungsten]

If military dictatorship is so distasteful to the Euros, how the hell did Greece get in the EU?

[Dauphin]

Junta overthrown: 1974
Greece joins EU: 1981

[Drake Tungsten]

Damn you and your facts.

[Az]

Originally posted by Oerdin
The UK being one.

Yes, this is actually a good example, since Cromwell was an autocrat.

[FrustratedPoet]

So were all the monarchs before him, and arguably a few after him too.

[Az]

Exactly... and it evolved into the state it is today.

[VetLegion]

It really is a stretched analogy with Cromwell, and besides, who wants to wait 300 years for 'evolution' to happen


I think it is a good thing Turkey has the approachment process going.

But, as pointed out in this thread, it isn't very likely that it can fulfill the criteria in a reasonably short time. This can create a lot of resentment of EU if in 15 years Turks still get the 'fix the human rights' line from EU.

I mean here in Croatia there are just hints of our acess being blocked by Britain because of some Hague trial issues and it has created a quite some anger and dissapointment.

[VetLegion]

And while we are in the general area, and speaking of human rights ....

I can't help but wonder to myself (with no sinister intention ), when will Greece drop their own little statistics game and do an official census in which minorities will actially get counted?

Greece is EU member for 22 years, so this again demonstrates EU does have different criteria for different countries..

Not that I am equalising Greece and Turkey in any way, Greece has a much more stabile democracy

And lets not forget, if both Greece and Turkey would drop their little US sponsored arms race, it would probably save about 10 billion euros per annum that could go into developing both countries.