Turkish treat in store for Europe

The year''s last outing for Eurovision and time to look firmly to 2005.
New beginnings — for Europe, your columnist, pretty much all of us in one way or the other. But this might be the special theme of the European Union''s new year celebrations, not least with the slightly scary, slightly surreal and half-way heady prospect of Turkey extending the Union deep into West Asia.
Were Turkey allowed into Europe, it would add hard military muscle to a flaccid Union and bump up its population to 570 million, twice that of the United States. It would give Europe something the US is not likely to have — a voice and cachet within the Muslim world. It might turn Europe into a true global player.
The Chinese never meant it kindly and Europe does indeed seem doomed to live in interesting times. Not least from October 3, when Turkey''s 41-year thirst for European acceptance is partially slaked with the start of formal membership talks.
So, never mind for the moment the huge imponderables that stand in the way of Turkey becoming the first Muslim majority member of the 25-strong EU. Never mind divided Cyprus and whether or not Ankara will break with 30 years of eyeball-to-eyeball hostility to recognise the Greek-controlled south of the island.
Never mind too the unchangeable truth that Turkey is seen by much of Europe, particularly the Austrians, Danes and French, as too populous, poor, Muslim and Asiatic to deserve a European destiny. And last but not least, never mind Europe''s fear that 71 million lean, low-wage and overwhelmingly young Tu-rks will distort labour markets across the continent.
Consider instead, where Europe is poised to go, some seven months after it integrated its former Communist parts in an historic unifying attempt that turned it into the world''s largest trading bloc in terms of population. It was a long way away from the continental club''s feeble beginnings as a six-nation group more than 50 years ago.
At one stroke, the EU had increased its surface area by a quarter, acquired a long border with the former USSR and was able, in the spirit of European goodwill to all men, to make blood brothers of the residents of, say, Prague and Paris.
But that was then, back in May, when EU enlargement was taking place against the doleful distant drumbeat from the existing EU-15.
The new Europe, they said, was too poor and unreconstructed ever to have the joie de vivre of the western rich man''s club. The new, wider Europe, they said, would pull the old narrow one back. It is obviously too soon to judge, but it has not yet been the feared instant disaster.
Might that be the case wi-th Turkey as well? Once Kemal Attaturk''s modern Muslim nation becomes welded to Europe – in constitution, currency and community – there will be no looking back for the EU. It will have visibly lived the open inclusive values it preaches to much of the conflict-ridden developing world. So prospects of a happy new year indeed, if Europe and Turkey perform the ultimate 21st century rope trick – managing differences.