When European Heads of State and Government concluded in 1999 that, “Turkey is a candidate state, destined to join the Union on the basis of the same criteria as applied to the other candidate States,” they did so in full knowledge of all the arguments for and against Turkish EU membership. The same is true for the decision they took three years later, when they promised to open negotiations, should they find in December 2004 that Turkey fulfils the political criteria and should this be recommended by the European Commission.