“A tempest in a teapot” is perhaps the best description of the recent squabbles about opening the European Union’s accession negotiations with Turkey. The election in Germany was in part fought on the issue, as Chancellor Angela Merkel ran on a platform of offering Turkey a “privileged partnership,” rather than full admission. The Austrian government’s posturing – motivated as much by its upcoming elections as genuine foreign policy concerns – seemed to threaten the opening of the accession talks themselves.
“A tempest in a teapot” is perhaps the best description of the recent squabbles about opening the European Union’s accession negotiations with Turkey. The election in Germany was in part fought on the issue, as Chancellor Angela Merkel ran on a platform of offering Turkey a “privileged partnership,” rather than full admission. The Austrian government’s posturing – motivated as much by its upcoming elections as genuine foreign policy concerns – seemed to threaten the opening of the accession talks themselves.