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US warned to stay out of Turkey's EU entry talks
Financial Times ^ | 04-21- 2003 | By George Parker and Judy Dempsey

Posted on 04/21/2003 6:41:35 PM PDT by pkpjamestown

Turkey's hopes of early entry to the European Union risk being damaged by US interference, according to Gunter Verheugen, the EU's enlargement commissioner.

Mr Verheugen says US pressure has been "counter-productive" to the Turkish cause and insists it is better for the EU to conduct negotiations with Ankara in a low-key atmosphere.

The EU has agreed to assess Turkey's membership credentials by the end of 2004 and Mr Verheugen wants to see solid evidence that Ankara is implementing political and economic reforms.

But he says Washington's push to have Turkey inside the EU at the earliest opportunity annoyed many Europeans at December's summit in Copenhagen, when the membership bid was discussed.

With tensions between the US and some European countries still high after the Iraq war, Mr Verheugen urged Washington to stay out of what are likely to be difficult talks with Turkey.

Political opinion in some EU member states, including Germany, is still divided on the merits of Turkish membership and some fear that further American lobbying could harden opinion.

"We should never forget that 15 EU leaders have decided that Turkey can be a member," Mr Verheugen said in an interview with the Financial Times.

"Everyone understands the US interest and the need for Turkey to be firmly anchored in western democracy - there is no need for them to use such strong pressure."

(Excerpt) Read more at news.ft.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: eu; turkey; us
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1 posted on 04/21/2003 6:41:35 PM PDT by pkpjamestown
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To: pkpjamestown
I can't wait for them to join now. I can't wait until Brussels starts telling Turkey that they "must" let the Kurds form their own party and have their own culture and speak their own language and...and....and....and. I can't wait for Brussels to order Turkey to let the Greeks back into Izmir and get out of Cyprus. Can't wait until Brussels orders Ankara to let the Islamists do whatever they want and for the army to stay out of it.

Happy Is He Who Calls Himself An EU slave! LOL, they deserve each other.
2 posted on 04/21/2003 6:48:51 PM PDT by Arkinsaw
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To: pkpjamestown

The EU doesn't seem to be trying very hard to mend fences...

3 posted on 04/21/2003 6:51:37 PM PDT by Southack (Media bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
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To: pkpjamestown
Turkey's hopes of early entry to the European Union risk being damaged by US interference...

Oh gee, wouldn't that be too bad considering Turkey's attempts to screw up our war in Iraq. Turkey has had their fun, just wait until we decide to screw with them. We should burn Turkey's economy to the ground for laughs.

4 posted on 04/21/2003 6:53:33 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

To: Southack
I take it back, I hope Turkey gets in.
6 posted on 04/21/2003 6:54:27 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
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To: pkpjamestown
We all can see what France and Germany did for Saddam, wonder if the same fate awaits Turkey.
7 posted on 04/21/2003 6:54:30 PM PDT by Just mythoughts
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To: pkpjamestown
Herr Verheugen seems to be laboring under the misapprehension that the U.S. will reward the Turks for their invaluable help in the Iraq intervention by continuing to press for the EU to admit them. Herr Verheugen appears to have been living in a box the last month.
8 posted on 04/21/2003 6:54:56 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: seamole
Thanks for posting the rest of it. I was not sure if FT allows it. Where is the list?
9 posted on 04/21/2003 7:01:23 PM PDT by pkpjamestown
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To: pkpjamestown
I don't see why we should interfere in this. I'm sure Chirac must have promised Turkey rapid entry into the EU in return for preventing us from opening a northern front in Iraq. So let them collect their reward from Chirac.
10 posted on 04/21/2003 7:03:33 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
We should burn Turkey's economy to the ground for laughs

If you do that, you will have to pay their debt. The US guanteed most of their loans! Let the EU pay them off!

11 posted on 04/21/2003 7:04:37 PM PDT by pkpjamestown
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To: Cicero
See 11.
12 posted on 04/21/2003 7:05:26 PM PDT by pkpjamestown
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To: pkpjamestown
Sounds like the chickens (or in this case Turkeys) are coming home to roost....
13 posted on 04/21/2003 7:09:01 PM PDT by yooper
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
I suppose this is evidence of a character flaw of some type or another, but every time I see the phrase "US warned..." I feel the urge to lash out and just flatten someone. It's the same feeling I get when I am in a mall and hear some 12 year old snarl to his long-suffering mother, "Just give me some money, stupid!"
14 posted on 04/21/2003 7:11:07 PM PDT by Anamensis (New axis of evil: Syria, Iran, Hollywood)
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To: Arkinsaw
I can't wait for them to join now. I can't wait until Brussels starts telling Turkey that they "must" let the Kurds form their own party and have their own culture and speak their own language and...and....and....and. I can't wait for Brussels to order Turkey to let the Greeks back into Izmir and get out of Cyprus. Can't wait until Brussels orders Ankara to let the Islamists do whatever they want and for the army to stay out of it.

I never thought of it that way

Hmmmm .. something tells me, it won't be pretty

15 posted on 04/21/2003 7:11:53 PM PDT by Mo1 (I'm a monthly Donor .. You can be one too!)
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Comment #16 Removed by Moderator

To: Arkinsaw
In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled US warned to stay out of Turkey's EU entry talks, Arkinsaw wrote: I can't wait for them to join now. I can't wait until Brussels starts telling Turkey that they "must" let the Kurds form their own party and have their own culture and speak their own language and...and....and....and. I can't wait for Brussels to order Turkey to let the Greeks back into Izmir and get out of Cyprus. Can't wait until Brussels orders Ankara to let the Islamists do whatever they want and for the army to stay out of it. Happy Is He Who Calls Himself An EU slave! LOL, they deserve each other.

Yep let them have their little Euro-Weenie roast......hahahahahahaha

17 posted on 04/21/2003 7:31:26 PM PDT by joesnuffy (Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes)
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To: pkpjamestown
I think it'll be great when third-world nations like Turkey begin weighting down the EU with their decrepit, early-20th Century economies.
18 posted on 04/21/2003 7:43:06 PM PDT by Illbay
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To: pkpjamestown
Manufactured BS from the Axis of Weasels.
19 posted on 04/21/2003 7:52:59 PM PDT by cake_crumb (UN Resolutions=Very Expensive, Very SCRATCHY Toilet Paper)
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To: pkpjamestown
enlargement commissioner

Man, you gotta be some kind of socialist haven to have a position like that in your bureaucracy.

20 posted on 04/21/2003 7:56:25 PM PDT by Scott from the Left Coast
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