Judging by this New York Times report, Pope Benedict has now reversed the position that he previously held, and appears (I’d stress that word) to have endorsed Turkey’s eventual admission into the EU. Given (a) the distintegrating integration of those Muslims already living within the EU and (b) the increasingly unpleasant nature of the current Turkish government, it is difficult, to say the least, to understand the rationale behind his comments. Perhaps he’s just been cowed into submission by the reaction to his recent speech in Germany. If so, that’s a pity.
The good thing is that few EU politicians will pay much attention. The arguments for Turkish membership of the EU have never been persuasive, and with Ataturk’s grand secularist legacy busily being torn apart, they make no sense at all.
Free trade (+ an expanded NAFTA?), friendship and EU membership for Northern Cyprus should be on the agenda. Anything else is unacceptable.