Posted on 12/16/2004 10:04:44 AM PST by eluminate
European leaders gathering in Brussels are expected to agree to start EU accession talks with Turkey, at a summit which opens on Thursday. European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso has urged them to reject any half measures when they discuss the Turkish membership bid.
Mr Barroso said if the EU was to start talks, it should be on full membership, with no last-minute conditions.
But he urged Turkey to "go the extra mile" and recognise EU member Cyprus.
Mr Barroso asked what kind of message Turkey was sending if it did not recognise all the members of the club it wanted to join.
But Turkey, which occupies northern Cyprus, has said it will not bow to demands to recognise the country, calling the issue a "red line".
The Turkey-EU negotiations are expected to be protracted - possibly lasting up to 15 years.
There are widespread concerns over the impact on EU labour markets of Turkey's 71 million-strong population, which is predicted to rise to over 80 million by 2015 and to overtake Germany's population soon after.
But Mr Barroso voiced enthusiasm for Turkey's bid to join the 25-strong European Union.
"The challenge for Turkey is to win the hearts and minds of those European citizens who are open to, but not yet fully convinced of, Turkey's European destiny," Mr Barroso said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also in Brussels, gave a cautious welcome to signals that EU leaders were broadly behind the Turkish bid.
Sceptical public
In an interview published in a Turkish newspaper on Thursday, Mr Erdogan promised to scrutinise "every word" of the EU leaders' decisions.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, has warned that imposing strict preconditions on talks would amount to another "red line" Turkey would not cross.
On Wednesday evening, French President Jacques Chirac spoke out in favour of Turkish membership in a live interview on French TV. Mr Chirac said Turkey should be able to join the EU as long as it meets all the entry requirements laid down.
He stressed that any of the EU's 25 members could veto Turkish entry and that France reserved "the last word".
A poll by Le Figaro newspaper this week suggested that two-thirds of French people were against Turkey joining the EU.
The EU summit on Thursday and Friday will decide whether, when and under what conditions to give Turkey a start date for membership negotiations.
The governments of the UK and Germany are strongly in favour, but others, such as Austria, are opposed.
On Wednesday, the European parliament voted strongly in favour of opening membership talks with Turkey.
If Turkey's application is successful, the EU's frontier would extend deep into the Middle East.
It could become the first EU member with a majority Muslim population.
I like this comment section by the people there. So far I notice a tendency to ignore what people want and what the politicans strive towards...
Can anyone spell I M P L O S I O N? I sure can, say it with me; implosion, thats when someone eats too much to such a degree that when they finally eat the final peace of cake their stomach explodes and they die. Just being critical.
How many nations are in the EU now? Let me know when it gets to and stays at the number 10...
That red line is enough to doom Turkey's bid to join the EU. Or at least enough Casus Belli for the EU to reject them when they wanted to anyway.
It will take at least 10 years until Turkey joins the EU. I'm optimistic that their economical situation will improve significantly till then.
you do realize this isn't about ecconomic right? Eu was a bond of likeminded nations in an ecconmic forum not a nation state in itself. Its evolved into something it wasn't supposed to be. Have you seen the constitution they are tryint to push through its basicly the creation of a EU-nation state.
If Turkey joins EU will definetely implode. Now when something implodes states that border it benifit tremendously. Ergo Russia.
That's not true. The political union was a distant aim from the very beginning.
I have no problem with Turkey being an islamic country and joining the EU. If their economic situation improves and they stay on the course they are on now I'm all for it.
did u read the constitution excrepts on bbc? basicly the eu-law that is going to be established will become supreme over national law in any are that it will be legislated... Now if that doesn't sounds like establishment of a sovergnty upon the members I dont know what to tell you.
how many nations? 25 and set to increase (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia).
I'm against Turkish entry based on the simple fact that Turkey is not a European nation, and that it's 99% muslim. The majority in almost every country is against it but the socialist crowd try to ignore that, because after all "politicians know better.
Yes, in some areas the EU law has to be implemeted by the memberstates into their law. The EU wouldn't work if that wouldn't be the case.
Because there's only room for 1 turkey in the EU! LOL
I lean toward supporting the accession of Turkey to the E.U. Europe currently has a demographics problem and is recruiting Muslim immigrants. The problem is mostly with Arab Muslims. If Turkey enters the E.U., these Arab immigrants would be replaced by slightly more secular Turks. Either way, there are going to be fewer and fewer Caucasian Europeans.
Well now. Since the EU, and in particular France, got Turkey to block the United States 4th Division's access in to Iraq by dangling the EU membership carrot...I wonder how many other hoops the EU will try to make Turkey jump through to get membership?
It will be an interesting dog and pony show to watch. I've got my popcorn ready. Roll the film.
4 million+ turks live in germany .... I disagree with what you say completely
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