Media Monitors Network (MMN)

"What will Turkish EU membership mean for the Middle East and Islam? The spontaneous answer to this query is: "Nothing, or not much". Turkey will become an EU member country at the earliest by 2015; and then Turkey's impact on EU foreign policy decisions will be limited. It will just have one voice among 30 countries, some of which, like France, the UK and Germany, have a long-standing role in the Middle East."

"Ramadan is undoubtedly the most special time of the year for Muslims all over the world, a time of prayers, reflection and collective reassertion of our faith and commitment to Islam."

"In the political geography of EU foreign policy, Turkey is likely to be an active and strident advocate of its own interests in the Middle East, rather than a supporter of the bland platitudes favored but weakly pursued by Europe's majority. In the same way that Spain has led on the EU's relations with Latin America, and France on policy toward North Africa, so Turkey will demand to make the running on Iraq, Iran, Syria, and, at least to some extent, Israeli-Palestinian relations."

"No leader after Arafat in Palestine will gain full public legitimacy without being elected in open, free and democratic elections."

"The Bush administration has been able to get away with badly distorting reality because the public doesn’t have as much personal experience with foreign policy and security issues as they do with issues such as education, health care, the economy, etc."