Ten questions about Turkey's EU membership
Ten questions about Turkey's EU membership

Summary/Abstract: In this article, Jens Alber looks at ten frequently asked questions about Turkey’s EU membership. His study, based primarily on opinion polls, shows that while the Turks differ from the Europeans in many respects, the differences between educated urban groups and the rural population as well as between younger and older people in Turkey are remarkably insignifi cant. Hence, Turkey’s EU accession will no doubt lead to even greater economic and cultural heterogeneity in Europe. On the other hand, the Turks support democratic rights and freedoms almost as much as the Europeans and, in their overwhelming majority, are in favour of joining the EU. Using the example of the Federal Republic of Germany’s integration into the West after the Second World War, which shows that value orientations and cultural models can change very quickly under pressure of new foreign-policy obligations and relations, the author argues for the admission of Turkey to the European Union. This would strengthen civil liberties and pro-Western elements in the country, thus contributing to the further spread and consolidation of West European democratic values.

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