At a time when "the Sarko show" is on the European stage, Turkish entry into the EU remains a pretence. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is determined to keep Turkey out of the EU: recently France blocked the opening of one of three new chapters in Turkey's negotiations. He has proposed a "Union of the Mediterranean", saying "Dear Turkey, I do not want you in the European Union, but why not instead join us as a major player in the Mediterranean Union?". Sarkozy sees Turkish entry as a zero-sum game for France. France has already lost influence in the bloc of 27. Turkish accession, with strong voting rights, would be another setback for France's influence in the EU.

Of course, Turkey is not happy with the alternatives to the full EU membership. There are bad news for Turkey: The idea of a Mediterranean Union--or the so-called Club-Med is gaining popularity among the Mediterranean countries including the 27-nation bloc's members. Recently, the Spanish foreign minister similarly suggested a union comprising EU states and Mediterranean countries should have a council of heads of state and government that would set strategic policy guidelines, have ministerial councils, a Permanent Commission to act as a secretariat, a reinforced parliamentary assembly, and even its own bank. Last month, Sarkozy embarked on a brief tour in Algeria and Tunisia to market his plans bringing North Africa closer to Europe with a new Mediterranean Union of countries from the region, the Middle East and Turkey. Egypt also backed the plan. After a meeting with Sarkozy in Paris last week he said the project needed to be detailed but made clear his agreement that it was in the best interest of North African and European countries.

Countries with membership perspective in EU’s Neighbourhood such as Turkey is confronted with alternative offers. The analogy of clubs could be helpful in understanding this situation:

The club of elites is located in the best part of the coast. There you get whole day full sun-light, private access to the beach, the rooms are of best quality and the club menu is delicious. However, there are several issues which might divide the club members. One of these is the issue with future club members. A group called “keepers” are afraid of loosing their privileges in the club through increase of club members. An other group, “challengers”, want to expand the club and share club's benefits with newcomers. Now, “keepers” come up with the idea of a new club, which will look like a low-cost “club of elites”. Let’s call this Club-Med.