Just a small part of the territory of Turkey is placed in Europe, and this leads to the big political issue: should Turkey be considered a European country so it can become a member of the EU? This question has been debated a lot, particulaly in Europe where many countries are against the Turkish membership of the EU meanwhile other countries emphasize that the possibility for Turkish membership can be a goal in order to advance and stabilize democracy in Turkey. The possibility of a future membership was recognized when Turkey and the European Economic Community first entered an association agreement in 1963, but since 1999, Turkey had been as a country negotiating for a membership.
Besides they don’t know if Turkey is from Europe or from Middle East, many think that the EU doesn’t want Turkey to enter because they are not Christian.
"Turkey is not a Germany, or a France, and it will never be like these countries. Turkey is different. If the current members want to establish Europe on the base of Christian values, Turkey can never be a European. If Europe means Christian discrimination, it means that the EU has to live with more than 100 million non Europeans (Muslims) inside"German politician Stoiber argued that Turkey has different cultural and spiritual background and these differences make it non-European: "Turkey is not Europe nor does it belong to the continent, because the country has such great cultural and spiritual differences with western values.”
Nowadays, Turkey’s position between Europe and the Middle East is more in a state of instability that it has been for many years.
http://www.diis.dk/sw59923.asp
www.turkishweekly.net/.../christian-values-new-eu-membership-criteria-for- turkey.html
