TOKYO Despite the fact that 95% of Turkey's territory is in Asia, the country has traditionally looked to Europe as its political and economic lodestar. In 1987, it applied to join what was then the European Economic Community. Ten years later it was declared eligible for European Union membership.
But after years of negotiations, Turkey remains outside the bloc. "Joining the EU is still a strategic target," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Nikkei Asian Review in a recent interview. "But there are realities. ... Only a quarter of the population now wants to join."
