11/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Students' Forum (AEGEE) has reacted strongly to comments made on the subject of Turkey by Dutch Commissioner Frits Bolkestein in his book, "The Limits of Europe", which has just been published (see EUROPE of 9 March, p.4). Given Mr Bolkestein's fear of seeing the Union enlarge without limits, Turkey could serve as a "buffer zone" between the EU and Russia, and if it enters the EU, Ukraine, Russia and Moldova should also be accepted, he writes in his book. AEGEE replies that "Europe is a role-model for democracy, (…) a vision to be expanded and shared rather than implemented in cold war tactics". Adrian Pintilie, AEGEE-Europe President, goes as far as to suggest there should be a revised version of the book. The AEGEE is represented in 260 university cites in 42 countries all around Europe and has around 17,000 members. It is apolitical and has been very active in Eastern Europe since 1989. It has also played an important role in the implementation of the European programmes Socrates and Erasmus in Turkey.)