And so are today Poland and the 9 other new members. And so are Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia when they will join in 2007. I totally agree that th EU is great for the development in Europe, however that's not a reason to be too ambitious.luiz said:I think if Turkey joined the EU it would be excellent both for the turks and for the EU as a whole.
Obviously today they are poor, but so were Portugal, Spain, Greece and Ireland when they joined. And look at them now.
Marla_Singer said:However, I'm not anymore convinced and if that's the case, it's mainly because Europe doesn't need to have a foot in the Middle East.
Yeah, however, Turkey, the former occupyer, is maybe not the best foot to have in the Middle East.luiz said:Considering the dependency of the EU on Mid-Eastern oil (even larger then the american dependency), I would say that it would be very smart for europeans to have a strong foot in the ME.
I'm pretty sure that many parts of London are richer than Luxembourg.stormbind said:Indeed. I say we invade and loot Luxembourg. It would only take a weekend at most
Turkey is maybe at 73 million people today... but Turkey will be at 93 million in 2020, and over 100 million in 2030 (well I'll be old then, but still, that would make 20% of the population of the zone).Hakim said:Whenever Turkey fulfils the conditions set by EU, I welcome it.
There are today 456 million citizens in EU. Turkeys 73 won't make that much difference politically or economically.
If the EU economy improves, and lifts the state of Turkey, then their reproduction rate would fall in the same way as it has done elsewhere.Marla_Singer said:Turkey is maybe at 73 million people today... but Turkey will be at 93 million in 2020, and over 100 million in 2030 (well I'll be old then, but still, that would make 20% of the population of the zone).
SeleucusNicator said:Spoken like somebody who does not understand the modern Turkish state and its situation, problems, and threats, zulu.