Some Turks Disilllusioned With EU

Turkish nationalism is on the rise as resistance to its admission to the European Union solidifies in Germany and other members of that organization, according to a recent commentary carried by the Reuters news service.

The article notes that Turkish support for EU membership has fallen by ten percentage points in a national survey. Meanwhile, political activists have called for an independent Turkey free from association with either the United States or the European Union.

Turkey has always been a friend of the United States. Its unexpected decision to bar American forces from overflying its territory during the initial stages of the war in Iraq was a departure from an otherwise strong U.S.-Turkish alliance. Nevertheless, signs of change in Turkey have been unmistakeable as popular sentiment remains opposed to American actions in Iraq and elsewhere.

Prospects for a Turkey apart from both the U.S. and the EU remain highly uncertain. As internal processes of reform have freed the population to express its political inclinations, growing alienation from both the U.S. and the EU suggests that the neither the U.S. nor the European Union can afford to take Turkey for granted.

For more information, see this article published today.