No other enlargement country, nor enlargement itself, has aroused as much debate as Turkey’s request for accession to the European Union. Until now, the Brussels commissioners had never been forced to find nuanced and complicated formulations to define the nature of the relationship between Turkey and Europe – a “carefully elaborated compromise” or a “privileged partnership” – in order to finally initiate the negotiations by specifying that it is nevertheless “an open process whose result (membership) cannot be guaranteed in advance.” (...).