Madam, - A long line of contributors to your paper have supported Turkish entry into the European Union, but many people remain unconvinced of its benefits.
In 2004, the European Commission developed a new foreign policy instrument called the "European Neighbourhood Policy", offering neighbouring countries a privileged relationship built upon a mutual commitment to common values such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, market economy principles and sustainable development.
Until the EU's internal problems are resolved, the interaction between Europe, Turkey and aspiring entrants to the European Union should be based on similar grounds.
We need a confident European Union which can defend its humanist values and advocate on the world stage its model of using market forces to enhance social and political stability. The EU is the biggest market in the world with over 450 million consumers, a number increased by about 30 million with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
At the same time, as the referendums on the EU Constitution have shown, Europeans have divergent views on how the Union should be structured internally and what role it should play in the lives of its citizens and member-states. This is why it is time for the EU to undergo a phase of reflection and consolidation rather than continued expansion.
- Yours, etc,
Cllr CHRIS ANDREWS (Fianna Fáil), City Hall, Dublin 2.