On 15 December 1997, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País publishes a column by the journalist Hermann Tertsch, who analyses the question of Turkey’s accession to the European Union. The author understands why the Turkish authorities are irritated by the lengthy accession process and the hostility of some European countries at the idea of Turkey’s integration into the EU. He suggests that it would have been preferable to warn Turkey at the outset that some European countries have always been and will remain opposed to the possibility of Turkish accession. However, Turkey must also make progress in the fight against corruption and torture, find a solution to the Kurdish situation and build a state based on the rule of law that provides a solid basis for democracy.