Identification with the particular meaning of the European continent has always been linked to the continent's history, geography and culture. However, through the process of European integration the meanings of a European identity have been reshaped and therefore become increasingly complex. Difficulty of defining the borders of Europe has led to the emergence of the European Union membership as the most concrete indicator of Europeanness. The enlargement process of the EU have determined the boundaries of what is Europe and what is not and Turkey's accession to the EU has become the most important and visible line of demarcation in that aspect. The main obstacle to Turkey's membership in the EU was not the reason that European officials formally cite - problems related to democracy, economics and human rights - but rather lies in the Turkey's identity, its cultural differences and divergent social norms. The declaration of representative of Christian Democratic Party from Six countries Helmut Kohl at a meeting of the European Peoples Party in Brussels in 1997, has reflected this attitude saying that "the European Union [EU] is a civilization project and within this civilization project, Turkey has no place.".

             The decision not to include Turkey among the 11 candidates for accession in 1997 called into question the EU's objectivity in evaluating candidate countries, since Turkey has a more developed market economy than most of those countries and its political problems are no worsen than those of many of the other applicants. Although the Turkey's eligibility in 1989 detailed serious economic and political difficulties that rendered Turkish accession unlikely, such as the expansion of political pluralism, the state of democracy, the persistence of disputes with a Member State, namely Greece, the lack of viable solution to the Cyprus problem, relative economic backwardness, especially in macroeconomic terms, the Kurdish question, and problems related to human rights.