Recall that Turkey made its first application to join in 1959, and that since 1963, the European Economic Community, the forerunner to today’s EU, responded with a delaying tactic: a request for a customs agreement. At the same time, having never had to take “no” for an answer – and after receiving a series of nods and winks that hinted that membership might one day come – Turkey’s expectation of eventual EU integration became increasingly palpable.
还记得土耳其最初于1959年提出申请，而且从1963年以来，今日欧盟的前身欧洲经济共同体使用拖延战术予以应付，那就是要求达成海关协议。与此同时，土耳其从未把欧盟的答复视为拒绝，而且在收到一系列将来总有一天会入盟的暗示之后，其最终融入欧盟的期望变得愈发明显。