The study discusses Turkey's and Russia's European bid within a broader historical context of the debates on Europe. The prospect of the EU enlargement's stopping indefinitely sometime around 2007 inevitably entails two major consequences. Firstly, a new dividing line will be drawn across Europe between the nations that will be integrated within the Enlarged Union and those that will not. Secondly, the countries that are left out hut still regard themselves European - and this seems to he the case of Turkey and Russia -- will have to face a tough dilemma. These nations will have to either revisit the thorny issue of their own cultural identity or push for reinventing the concept of Europe. Given the fact that the idea of Europe can be defined in a variety of ways, the second option is more likely. Thus, even in the enlargement process grinds to a halt at some point in the coming decade, the debotes on Europe will continue.