The Limits of Europe
The Limits of Europe

Summary/Abstract: The ‘construction of Europe’ has involved some far from straightforward decisions as to who or what is to be included or excluded, and the criteria to be employed. For example, Morocco’s 1987 application for full membership of the EC was peremptorily rejected because it was considered not to be a European country, even though its economy and its Francophone elites were (and still are) much more heavily orientated towards Europe than towards the rest of Africa or the Arab world. Likewise, notwithstanding its official adoption of a European identity and a strongly secularist Constitution under Mustafa Kemal, and despite having been an Associate Member of the European Community since 1964 as well as a longstanding member of NATO, the Council of Europe and the OSCE, Turkey has been denied full membership of the European Union partly because it is not regarded as not coming up to ‘European standards’ of respect for universal human rights, minority rights, and civilian rule, but also because of the predominantly Muslim religious affiliation of its population.

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