It came as no surprise when the EU recently suspended some of its planned membership talks with Turkey. The sticking points pertain to the strained relations between Turkey and Cyprus, which have long threatened to undermine Turkey’s membership bid. What is surprising — and dismaying — is that the union is treating this as primarily a legal problem. That’s a distortion. Turkey is indeed in violation of European law on the proper treatment of Cyprus. But the problem is mainly political, and of the union’s own making. The EU blundered when it allowed a divided Cyprus to join the union in 2004. Reunification — of Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north — should have been a precondition.

Opposition to Turkey fails the test of Europe’s values of tolerance and compromise. It is also a failure on Europeans’ part to discern their self-interest. There is a growing awareness of the need to engage Iraq’s neighbours in an effort to quell the war in Iraq and to work for peaceful Middle East.

Turkey is an underutilised resource in this regard. Turkey is also becoming an important hub for transporting oil and gas to Europe from Russia and Central Asia. It’s up to the EU to mend the Cyprus divide and clear the way for a dispassionate recognition of Turkey’s vital role in

Europe.