Turkey has presented unique problems in the enlargement debate because of the large number of Turkish immigrants in Germany and other countries who would have to be given fuller rights [like, for instance, voting rights in local elections] and because of the implications of freedom of movement when there are already large Turkish communities in European countries.

Now, any suggestion that the constituent parties of the  European People's Party / European Democrats (like Sarkozy's UMP) are not racist and reactionnary is naive. Especially the Christian Democrat part of it was very noisy about "Europe is a Christian Club" in the EU Constitution debates.

Nothing is 'mere'. — Richard P. Feynman