Turkey membership will test pluralism of EU, says Patten

The EU has a good chance to counter the looming fulfillment of Samuel Huntington's thesis of a clash between Christian and Muslim civilisations, Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten has argued in a speech,'Islam and the West - at the Crossroads', at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford on 24 May.

The opportunity for the EU relates to the issue of Turkey's possible membership of the EU: "We cannot help but be conscious of the symbolism, at this time, of reaching out a hand to a country whose population is overwhelmingly Muslim," said Patten, noting that the Turkish city of Istanbul has been a bridge between worlds historically speaking.

"To be fair, the counter-proposition, that saying ‘no’ to Turkey for now would somehow turn the Arab world against us is also over-stated," said Patten while adding: "I believe we can avoid the clash between the West and Islam which some predict and a few pray and conspire for. The real clash is not between civilisations themselves, but between civilisations and barbarism – the enemy of us all."

The European Council is set to decide in December 2004 on whether or not to start membership negotiations with Turkey.