Already there are divisions over the delicate question of whether the union should admit Turkey, a country of 70 million.

However, it seems wiser to delay making any commitments to admit Turkey.

The United States has been pressing the European Union to admit Turkey, which American officials believe must remain a key strategic partner of the West.

Not least, admitting Turkey would also send a message of tolerance by accepting into Europe a huge Muslim population often rightly suspicious of religious bias.

Emblematic of his exuberant leadership was a decision two years ago to ask the European Community to admit Turkey as its 13th member.

With the European Union acting more unsure about whether to admit Turkey, there are signs that conservatism is growing across the nation, both politically and culturally.

Leaders of the European Union say they are reluctant to admit Turkey mainly because of its shaky democratic credentials.

Chapter 4 'Admit it, Turkey,' said Bedevere, 'we're lost.'

Such ambivalence, stoked by fears of immigration and Europe's lackluster economic performance, has been most prominently expressed in opposition to admitting Turkey, which is Muslim.

It now seems very clear that we are never going to admit Turkey to full membership.