The December European Council was about Turkey or, more specifically still, about whether and on what terms the EU should open accession negotiations with the Turkish goverment. The final decision was positive. It was only arrived at however after lengthy and at times painful negotiations inside Coreper and the European Council and between the Presidency and Turkey. In his latest Briefing Note, Peter Ludlow provides a detailed analysis of how the decision was reached and what it is likely to mean for both the Union and Turkey. Based as usual on confidential oral and written sources, it throws entirely new light on one of the most complex and important European Councils of recent years.