While claiming that they want Turkey in the ranks of the EU, European leaders are in fact horrified at the prospect of the citizens of a country with a mostly-Muslim population having free movement throughout the Union; however, the fear of a huge influx of refugees has forced them to make deals with Ankara, according to Politico magazine.

“What we are witnessing is hypocrisy on multiple levels,” reporter Hugo Dixon writes in his opinion piece for the magazine.

The author refers to a two-part deal between the EU and Turkey reached at a summit on November 29. According to it, the EU promised Ankara cash and visa-free travel for its citizens in return for stemming the flow of migrants from Turkey into the EU. The second involved re-energizing talks for Turkey to join the club.

In the past, the author explains, EU accession talks have been a tool for countries with "illiberal backgrounds to make a transition to democracy, rule of law and human rights.” The EU sets a series of conditions countries need to meet in order to join the club and their leaders then beaver away for years to satisfy them.

The above process worked well with a number of countries, including Greece, Portugal and a number of the Eastern European countries.

“With Turkey, though, the process isn’t working,” he says.

The reason is, the author elaborates, that the EU isn’t sincere about wanting Turkey in the club, while Erdoğan has no intention of making the reforms needed to join.

“The EU pretends to want Turkey as a member but many of its citizens would be horrified at the prospect of a country of 78 million people, most of them Muslims, having free movement throughout the Union. Liberal values, of course, include non-discrimination on the basis of religion, but the EU may lack the courage of its convictions when it comes to Islam.”

The EU also pretends to care about democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Turkey, the author states. But it barely mentions these, fearing that doing so would “infuriate Sultan Erdogan and make him less amenable to slowing the flow of refugees.”

However, the journalist says, “Turkey is becoming more illiberal and authoritarian under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

Instead of hypocrisy, the European leaders should genuinely work on Turkey joining the EU but, in that case, they will call Erdogan out whenever he fails to meet the required standards.

“What they shouldn’t do is continue with the current course that involves a transactional relationship dressed up as part of an accession process that nobody really believes in.”