Conservatives seek E.U. partners

last updated 8 January 2015

Ankara

Turkey’s conservative party said this week it wanted to join the E.U.’s umbrella league of European right-wing parties. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan said that his ruling Justice and Development Party, while Islamist, is both conservative and democratic—so it meets the criteria for membership in the European Peoples’ Party. Erdogan believes such a partnership would smooth the way for Turkey’s long-desired entry into the E.U. But it may be tough going. Most of Europe’s conservative parties are Christian Democratic, and their members don’t want to see a Muslim country in the union. In Germany, which has the largest Turkish minority population of any E.U. country, the Christian Democratic Union is adamantly against Turkish participation in the league. “We would be reluctant,” said CDU leader Hartmut Nassauer. “I don’t see that it is very urgent to discuss it.”