Turkey
In December 2004, Turkey was finally given assurances that the EU would begin talks with Turkey with a view to exploring the possibilities of admitting Turkey as a member of the EU within a number of years.
Of course there is still some way to go yet and before it can happen, the government in office must put the number of issues in order in Turkish society.
Are the majority of the Turkish population have an unblinking faith that this will be successful, and there is no doubt that Turkey is making an effort to adapt as regards the demands made of EU member states.
Turbo-charged economy
That for many years people have turned their noses up at the Turkish economy. A lack of growth, massive inflation and miserable prospects have been the general attitude to the country's economy.
Almost miraculously, however, things have changed. The Turkish economy has shown the most rapid growth in the OECD in recent times. The economy grew by 7% in 2005, and at 8%, inflation was lower than 10% for the first time since 1972.
The future looks bright for Turkey, with the national debt almost halved within a few years, and positive developments will undoubtedly attract many foreign investors.
Divided between Europe and Asia
It has not always been this way, however. Through recent centuries, the population of the country that lies on two continents have endured an unsettled existence.
As most people probably know, Turkey has a European and an Asian part, separated by the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Straits of Bosporus.
Today, Turkey has a population of approximately 85 million and stretches from Greece and Bulgaria in the West to Armenia and Iran in the East.
Most of the population has its roots in ethnic groups in Central Asia which around a thousand years ago settled in Anatolia (Asia Minor), which is part of Turkey. In addition to this, the Kurds constitute 20% of the population.
Turkey is predominantly an agricultural nation and the lack or limited occurrence of minerals, oil and natural gas have hampered industrialisation.
Istanbul, today and modern metropolis, is the largest city with a population of around 10 million, while the capital, Ankara, has a population of some 4 million.
From the 16th century until 1918 Turkey was known as the Ottoman Empire, but a mistaken alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary during the First World War led to the Empire's collapse.
In 1920, a peace treaty was imposed on the country which was so humiliating that the military leader Mustafa Kemal, who later became known as the great paternal monarch, Kemal Atatürk, started a war of national liberation which resulted in Atatürk proclaiming Turkey as a republic in 1923.
He introduced a new modern constitution which separated the state and the religious community, made Sunday a non-working day instead of the Muslim Friday, replace the Arabic alphabet with the Latin and ordered women to abandon the veil.
Co-operation with the USA
Following the death of Atatürk in 1938, the military maintained its influence on Turkish politics, and in World War II the nation became the USA's ally and an anti-Soviet bastion with American military bases on its soil.
It was also under American influence that Turkey adopted a multi-party system. The introduction of free elections lasted only until 1980, however, when General Kenan Evran carried out a military coup d'état and became the country's president.
Growing stability
In 1983 and a new constitution was passed, the main goal of which was to break the back of a national debt of 44 billion US dollars and annual inflation of 70%.
The 80s and 90s in Turkey were characterised by a good deal of instability with many different political leaders, although the stability of Turkish society has grown from the late 90s until the present day.
The current president Ahmet Necdet Sezer was elected for a seven-year period, and since 2003 Tayyip Ergodan has been Prime Minister, and it was he who in December 2004 was diligent and fortunate enough to open Turkey’s door to the EU.