Many E.U. governments have hardened their positions toward Turkey in recent years. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are vehemently opposed to membership and want Turkey to settle for a second-class "privileged partnership." Stating bluntly that Turkey is in Asia Minor, Sarkozy has said he refuses to be the one to "tell French schoolchildren that the borders of Europe extend to Syria and Iraq." And its not only Europes heavyweights who are blocking Turkeys accession: Earlier this year, Bulgaria demanded that Turkey first pay compensation for the expulsion of Thracians by Ottoman forces in the early 20th century. This all amounts to "Turkey bashing," says former Finnish President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari, who last September led a high-profile panel on Turkeys accession process that castigated E.U. leaders for playing on popular fears in a bid for easy votes. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007186,00.html?xid=newsletter-europe-weekly#ixzz0vRO3KFEw