EU parliament deals setback to Turkey
September 29, 2005
People's Daily
Source: China Daily
European Union lawmakers chided Turkey Wednesday, five days before it is due to open EU membership talks, demanding that Ankara recognize the 1915 killing of Armenians as genocide before it joins the bloc.
The European Parliament gave grudging blessing to the start of negotiations next Monday after a heated debate that vented strong criticism of Turkey's human rights record.
But it postponed a vote to ratify Turkey's extended customs union with the EU in a bid to put pressure on Ankara to open its ports and airports to traffic from EU member Cyprus.
The non-binding resolution was a political slap in the face for Turkey, which insists there was no genocide.
The Turkish lira and stock market lost ground on the news, although traders said they did not believe the October 3 opening of talks was at risk.
Former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis from the ruling AK party told NTV television: "These decisions of the European parliament make things more difficult for Turkey."
EU governments remain deadlocked on a negotiating mandate for the talks, with Austria holding out for a more explicit mention of an alternative to membership.
Ankara reaffirmed Wednesday it would accept nothing less than full membership.
By Dan Bilefsky
International Herald Tribune
[...]
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey publicly dismissed the European Parliament's statements. But people close to the prime minister said he had been stung by them and had momentarily considered boycotting the talks. Erdogan has reiterated forcefully over the past few weeks that he would walk away from the talks if Turkey were offered anything less than full membership.
Turkish analysts said Turkish public opinion was growing increasingly frustrated with the EU's stance and Erdogan could not afford a deal deemed humiliating by many Turks. "Erdogan will not agree to talks if Turkey is forced to make more sacrifices," said Selcuk Gutalesi, a commentator for Zaman, a conservative newspaper close to the government. Already, Turkey has accepted unprecedented conditions to open EU negotiations, including an open-ended halt to the movement of Turkish workers into the bloc.
[...]
Recent polls show a majority of French, German and Austrian voters oppose admitting Turkey, and a majority of Danes would rather see non-EU candidate, Ukraine, in the EU than an "Islamic country" like Turkey.
That skepticism is likely to intensify in coming years, because leaders viscerally opposed to Turkey's entry are on the rise in two of the EU's most important countries, Germany and France. The Christian Democrat leader, Angela Merkel, who may lead a German coalition government after finishing ahead of the party in power in this month's elections, favors a "privileged partnership" for Turkey. In France, a likely presidential candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, also opposes Turkish membership.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here and here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
People's Daily
Source: China Daily
European Union lawmakers chided Turkey Wednesday, five days before it is due to open EU membership talks, demanding that Ankara recognize the 1915 killing of Armenians as genocide before it joins the bloc.
The European Parliament gave grudging blessing to the start of negotiations next Monday after a heated debate that vented strong criticism of Turkey's human rights record.
But it postponed a vote to ratify Turkey's extended customs union with the EU in a bid to put pressure on Ankara to open its ports and airports to traffic from EU member Cyprus.
The non-binding resolution was a political slap in the face for Turkey, which insists there was no genocide.
The Turkish lira and stock market lost ground on the news, although traders said they did not believe the October 3 opening of talks was at risk.
Former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis from the ruling AK party told NTV television: "These decisions of the European parliament make things more difficult for Turkey."
EU governments remain deadlocked on a negotiating mandate for the talks, with Austria holding out for a more explicit mention of an alternative to membership.
Ankara reaffirmed Wednesday it would accept nothing less than full membership.
By Dan Bilefsky
International Herald Tribune
[...]
In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey publicly dismissed the European Parliament's statements. But people close to the prime minister said he had been stung by them and had momentarily considered boycotting the talks. Erdogan has reiterated forcefully over the past few weeks that he would walk away from the talks if Turkey were offered anything less than full membership.
Turkish analysts said Turkish public opinion was growing increasingly frustrated with the EU's stance and Erdogan could not afford a deal deemed humiliating by many Turks. "Erdogan will not agree to talks if Turkey is forced to make more sacrifices," said Selcuk Gutalesi, a commentator for Zaman, a conservative newspaper close to the government. Already, Turkey has accepted unprecedented conditions to open EU negotiations, including an open-ended halt to the movement of Turkish workers into the bloc.
[...]
Recent polls show a majority of French, German and Austrian voters oppose admitting Turkey, and a majority of Danes would rather see non-EU candidate, Ukraine, in the EU than an "Islamic country" like Turkey.
That skepticism is likely to intensify in coming years, because leaders viscerally opposed to Turkey's entry are on the rise in two of the EU's most important countries, Germany and France. The Christian Democrat leader, Angela Merkel, who may lead a German coalition government after finishing ahead of the party in power in this month's elections, favors a "privileged partnership" for Turkey. In France, a likely presidential candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, also opposes Turkish membership.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here and here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 9:27 AM
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