I don’t think that the new British prime minister David Cameron is some sort of closeted europhile, but pronouncements such as those described below do suggest that he is a man who understands little about the EU and even less about Turkey.
ANKARA – Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday he was angered by the slow pace of Turkey’s European Union accession talks and warned against shutting Ankara out because of anti-Muslim prejudice.
Cameron’s strong support for Turkey’s limping EU bid puts him in stark contrast to fellow EU heavyweights France and Germany who argue against letting the mainly-Muslim country of over 70 million people to become a full member.
That Cameron blames the Franco-German stance on “anti-Muslim prejudice” is an argument of the intellectually desperate. Then again, what else does Cameron have? As so often, he has failed to grasp just how deep the EU’s federalizing project has already gone. Even if we ignore the phenomenal cost (of which cash-strapped British taxpayers would pay a disproportionate share) of such a scheme, admitting Turkey to the EU would give a country now led by genuinely popular Islamist thug a real say in the everyday lives of the British people. And then there are all those other things that would go with Turkish membership in the EU, such as, oh, the ability of a Turkish court to order the arrest and extradition of a British citizen from the UK to a Turkish jail with little or no judicial review. So much for Cameron, protector of civil liberties.
My best hope is that Cameron is only coming out with this because he is confident that France and Germany will — as they should — veto Turkish membership. His remarks will win him a bit of praise from the Turks, but no damage is done. Cynicism 101, and well done. If, on the other hand, he really believes in what he is saying (and, sadly, I think he might), it must raise serious concerns as to whether Cameron has what it takes to defend Britain’s national interests abroad. That is not a cheery thought at such an early stage of his government.