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Turkey and EU attempt to re-energize ties

Despite their half-century of hot-and-cold relations, Ankara and the European Union are trying to mend fences for Turkey's EU membership bid.
Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis addresses a joint news conference with European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule (R) after EU-Turkey accession talks in Brussels November 5, 2013.    REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX150NB
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Turkey’s ties with the European Union, which go back half a century, have lost their luster for ordinary Turks, as most surveys on the topic show. This is no surprise, since some in Europe have done more than enough to dampen Turkish enthusiasm for EU membership with one excuse or another, including arguments to the effect that Turks are not European and therefore have no place in the union.

The “bicycle,” to use a common analogy with regard to these ties, never fell over since there was just enough pedaling to prevent it. But Ankara’s membership talks, which started in 2005, have nevertheless been moving at a snail’s pace with no end in sight.

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