The day of reckoning in EU-Turkey relations is fast approaching. At the December European Council, the Union is expected to decide whether or not accession negotiations with Turkey can start. In a way, the EU as an entity and its members are finally faced with a momentous challenge that is rendered even more critical in the current turmoil affecting the international system, the perilous state of Trans-Atlantic relations, as well as the upheaval in many countries with a Muslim majority. The article analyses the current debate in the EU and arguments for and against Turkish EU membership.