TURKISH Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may be a hero in Egypt, Tunisia and other Arab nations desperate for a charismatic leader to steer a new democratic course for the region, but here in Brussels and other European capitals, policymakers are watching the Turkish leader with an anguished mixture of envy and anger.

The contrast in views is stark: Mr Erdogan received a rock star welcome in Cairo where activists, women and the media have been all praise for Turkey’s pro-Palestinian stand and the Turkish leader’s virulent criticism of Israel. In Brussels, there is no celebration of the ‘new’ Turkey or recognition that Ankara could play a much-needed constructive role in bringing stability to an increasingly volatile region.

Instead, there is a palpable air of disapproval as Turkey-watchers wrinkle their nose at what some describe as Ankara’s ‘upstart’ foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Several German members of the European Parliament, in fact, have voiced scepticism of Turkey’s efforts to establish itself as a regional power, accusing Ankara of playing the ‘anti-Israel’ card to make friends in the Arab street. Petulant? Yes, certainly. Germany — along with France — remains adamantly against Turkish membership of the European Union. But many EU diplomats are equally wary of Mr Erdogan’s growing popularity in the Muslim world and Turkey’s regional clout.

The envy is not surprising. Even as Erdogan declared in Cairo, that recognition of a Palestinian state was “not an option but an obligation”, the 27 EU member states were, once again, divided over whether or not to accept Palestine as a non-voting UN member. Europe’s rift over Palestine — Germany, Poland and the Netherlands are against recognition, France, Spain and Britain will probably vote in favour — is another blow to the bloc’s credibility as a global player. As Europe’s reputation takes another hammering in the Middle East, Turkey is standing ever taller as a secular Muslim nation, committed to democracy and economic reform.

Wherever I am, the question is always the same: why is the EU so opposed to Turkish membership? Is it really about fear of Islam? The short answer is yes. The longer one is more complicated. The EU has for years looked down at Turkey as a poor, struggling nation, with a weakness for military coups, a tendency to repress its Kurdish minority, unable to find its way through the many obstacles standing in the way of its entry into the elite European club.

Europeans got accustomed to placing the membership barrier higher and higher. The EU’s annual report on Turkey has traditionally been an embarrassing compendium of criticism and complaints, with EU officials unable, or unwilling, to differentiate between Ankara’s serious deficits and its struggle to ensure change and reform. Turks are the first to recognise that their country still has a long way to go in meeting European standards in a number of areas, including human rights. But what they would like is public EU acknowledgment of how just how far their country has come in a short time. They are not going to get it. Most European leaders are reluctant to say publicly that there really isn’t room in Europe for a Muslim nation as big, as powerful and as proud as Turkey.

More reasonable people admit that Turkish membership would have a positive impact on Europe’s declining birth rate and speed up the bloc’s economic growth. With its large army, Turkey would also help boost Europe’s military clout. But even the most pro-Turkey Europeans say they are concerned about the rising power of conservative Islam in the country. Mr Erdogan, meanwhile, has made clear that while he will continue to try and meet EU membership criteria, he also sees Turkey as a role model for the rest of the Muslim world.

His much-reported North African tour during which he was greeted with rapturous enthusiasm, included a rallying call for recognition of a Palestinian state. Addressing Arab foreign ministers, Erdogan said the recognition of a Palestinian state is an ‘obligation’ and reiterated strained ties with Israel would not improve unless the Jewish state apologises over the death of nine Turks killed in a raid on an aid flotilla last year. “It is time for the flag of Palestine to be hoisted at the United Nations,” he said.

Erdogan “is a man who has leadership qualities, inspiring to those around him”, wrote columnist Moataz Abdel Fatah in the independent daily Al Shorouk. “We need someone like him ... strong, with experience, trustworthy, honest and who respects laws and the constitution,” Abdel Fatah said. “Lend us Erdogan for a month!” wrote columnist Mohammed Amin in the liberal daily Al Wafd.

That’s definitely not the opinion in Europe. As Spiegel Online reported recently, among high-profile politicians in the European Parliament, criticism of Erdogan is growing. According to the website, Elmar Brok, the foreign policy spokesman for the parliamentary group of the conservative Christian Democrats in the European Parliament, said he is sceptical of Turkey’s efforts to establish itself as a regional power within the Arab world. Mr Erdogan was seeking to transform Turkey into a regional power similar to the status it held “earlier with the Ottoman Empire”, said Mr Brok.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a member of the European Parliament with the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) said he also viewed the shift in foreign policy course by the Turkish government as a sign that Ankara’s EU ambitions are waning. “With a strident anti-Israel course, it isn’t making any friends in Europe” right now, Mr Lambsdorff said. Mr Erdogan, however, is unlikely to be paying attention to such Euro-sniping. The Arab Spring breezes are much warmer than the cold wind blowing through the EU’s corridors of power.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Brussels.