Turkey is, of course, already a candidate for EU membership, but accession negotiations are moving very slowly, which is strategically unwise, because Turkey’s great authority in the wider Middle East is vitally important to Europe (and probably greater than its own). From Syria to all of the Arab Spring countries, Turkey’s influence is highly significant, and further cooperation with the EU can only prove beneficial.
当然，土耳其已经是欧盟成员的候选国，但入盟谈判进展的非常缓慢，这在战略上是不明智的，因为土耳其在中东广大地区所树立的权威对欧洲来讲至关重要（可能比欧洲自身的权威还要重要）。从叙利亚到阿拉伯春天各国，土耳其的影响力非常显著，事实会证明深化与欧盟的合作只能带来好处。