Turkey
was given a date to start accession talks with the EU tonight.
The EU agreed to launch membership talks with Turkey next year in a landmark offer to the vast Muslim country, although the vexed issue of Cyprus remained a cloud over the historic decision.
The negotiations are scheduled to begin on October 3.
Turkey is a truly unique and important country. It is large, powerful, Moslem, insular, poor and sitting on some of the most strategic real estate on the planet. It also is the former imperial master of most of its neighbors, with all the hatred that implies.
Tonight, the EU offered Turkey what the country has demanded for a long time: a date. Negotiations will last at least ten years, could stretch to twenty, and are not guaranteed to end in full membership.
The BBC has a brief overview of where the various players stand.
I'm thinking of this post as an open thread on foreign policy.
The Turkey - EU question is a tough one. It will fundamentally alter the Union, making a U.S.E. much less likely. Europe is terribly divided by this. How do Kossacks feel?