El dilatado proceso de adhesión de Turquía a la Unión Europea

Abstract

Turkey has been an «imperfect democracy». Turkey has been knocking on the European Union’s door for decades. Joining the Union is a long and arduous process-since it involves transforming the laws and economies of the applicant countries. In the case of Turkey, the accession process comes up against insurmountable obstacles like the lack of true democratic deepening or the weak protection of human rights (pluralism, freedom of expression, judicial independence, women’s situation etc). However, the economic side is more advanced. Another major obstacle is the Turkey’s attitude towards Cyprus. All these aspects hinder the EU’s accession of a «torn country», struggling to overcome the conflict between secularism and Islamism.