Turkey and the European Union: Why Europe Doesn\u27t Want a Taste of Turkey

This thesis examines the debate surrounding Turkey’s accession into the European Union, namely the allegation by some scholars that there has been a shift in the type of opposition against Turkey during recent years. Its goal is to examine tlie reasons why this shift occurred and it focuses on France as a specific country in which a shift in opposition has occurred. In the first chapter, it analyzes editorials published in the two most important French newspapers, Le Monde and Le Figaro, alongside the context of the simultaneously occurring external and political events, in order to prove that the shift occurred. In order to find out why the shift occurred, it looks at the European identity: what factors throughout history have gone into its creation, and how it has been challenged by the possibility of Turkey becoming a member of the European Union. Lastly, it examines how the growing presence of Islam within Europe as a result of Muslim immigration has caused conservative Europeans to become even more closeminded towards the idea of a multicultural Europe and how this has affected their perceptions of Turkey. It concludes that a shift did occur, and that the reasons explored were very significant in causing it, and makes some overall conclusions regarding the future of Turkey’s EU accession and what changes need to take place within Europe in order for it to occur