We must not turn our back on our best Muslim ally

Europe should welcome the Turks as a way of bringing Islamic and Western values closer together, argues former minister Stephen Twigg
The prospect of Turkey's entry to the European Union has triggered a remarkable outburst of fear and anxiety in some member states. Many voters who rejected the constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands cited the issue of Turkey as a key reason to call a brutal halt to the European project.

This is awkward for Britain, which has taken a lead in ushering Turkey towards the EU. British diplomats are working desperately to ensure accession talks do not collapse under the British presidency. Member states agreed last December for the first round of negotiations to proceed, but rejection of the constitution gave fresh impetus to those who nurse reservations.

In France, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has called on the Turks to recognise Cyprus as a sovereign state before the talks can resume. In Germany, Angela Merkel made opposition to Turkey's membership her flagship foreign policy in the election campaign. Turkey, argue Germany and Austria, should enjoy a 'privileged partnership' with the EU - a second-class status.

It is still likely that a face-saving fudge will be negotiated behind the scenes. A compromise could be that enlargement criteria generally will toughen, without singling Turkey out: the issue will be kept at bay without explicit rejection of Turkey. Such gamesmanship will go down disastrously in Turkey.

It is lazy to write this off as another EU fiasco. The problem is the fear that certain EU governments have of their own people. It cannot be argued forcefully enough that it is in our economic, geopolitical and strategic interests to bring our ally in the Islamic world into our midst. After 9/11, the Madrid bombs and the London attacks, we cannot avoid the issue of militant Islam and its appeal to young Muslims in the West. Here is a supremely important opportunity to welcome a secular Muslim state into the EU family.

Hope will not win over fear unless we understand what makes Europeans frightened and the role that labour market crowding and alleged 'insurmountable' cultural differences play in nurturing anxiety.

Some countries with large Turkish populations fear further migration. Germany has not yet come to terms with its influx of Turks, and rather than integrating migrants into society, successive governments have pursued the opposite policy. The result has been parallel societies which do not subscribe to the same set of values or share the same language.

Many Turks in Germany are economically disadvantaged, with unemployment biting hard among the younger generation. In a country suffering rising joblessness, anxiety about further immigration is inevitable. But the alienation of millions of German Turks cannot continue. Citizenship and language classes have a part to play in drawing in the younger generation and ensuring social cohesion. This should be about empowerment, rather than indoctrination.

But integration is a two-way street: accession would be a dramatic step in European multiculturalism and in finding ways of ensuring that Muslims and non-Muslims can live side by side. In the long term, Turkish membership might encourage emergence of a truly modern version of Islam that incorporates European values, women's equality and human rights. This adds urgency to the task of European identity. Into what are we inviting new entrants to integrate? Turkish accession is an opportunity to revisit these questions.

This is the EU's moment of truth in 2005. History will not judge us kindly if we fail to treat Turkey with respect, and - in so doing - signal to our own ethnic minorities that we have little faith in their capacity to integrate, or of others to follow them. Translated from political rhetoric into social reality, Merkel's 'privileged partnership' is a shabby offer. What will future generations say about us if we turn our backs now, with so much at stake, on the best Muslim friend we have?

· Stephen Twigg is director of the Foreign Policy Centre and was an Education Minister from 2002-2005

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