The only consistency with the talks, which started informally in 1999 when I was working in Brussels, is that they have never ever been sincere in that behind the façade of the EU serenading itself on the international circuit, with Turkey’s help, all EU negotiators in Brussels who really matter (in other words in the European Commission rather than obscure MEPs who you’ve never heard of) know perfectly well that the political resistance against Turkey joining the EU has never been greater than it is today.