From drift to strategy: Why the EU should start accession talks with Turkey

The prospect of membership has been the EU's single most effective foreign policy tool. In their desire to join the EU, countries across the European continent have consolidated democracy, opened up their economies, strengthened their public administrations, and improved relations with their neighbours. The accession process has worked wonders in Central and Eastern Europe, helping these countries to move from chaotic post-Communism to orderly EU membership in a decade and a half.