President Jacques Chirac took aim at President Bush last week and accused him of "going too far" by urging the European Union to begin membership negotiations with Turkey as soon as possible. The odd thing is that Chirac also believes Turkey should be admitted to the European Union. He just didn't like Bush telling him so. "It's a bit as if I explained to the United States how it should conduct its relations with Mexico," snapped Chirac.Beg to differ, Jacques:
France blunts German move on Turkish entryThe deep divisions in Europe over admitting Turkey to the EU were thrown into sharp relief last night when it became clear that the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, had failed in a bold attempt to cajole France's president, Jacques Chirac, into backing early entry... Sources close to the talks, however, said the Franco-German proposal was for a meeting of EU states at the end of 2004 -and then only to discuss Turkey's progress towards achieving the membership criteria. The new government in Ankara, which wants the EU to set a firm date for the start of accession talks, would regard such an outcome as disappointing, if not downright humiliating... Michael Glos, a leading Christian Democrat, told MPs that "Turkey is neither economically nor politically ripe for entry into the European Union". He said an expansion of the EU beyond the Bosphorus would "destroy the European project".
by John Hooper in Berlin
Ian Traynor in Ljubljana
I've lived in Turkey and was always treated hospitably, but the country is under continual stress between secular Kemalism supported by the army, and the strong Islamic beliefs of the masses. The present Turkish government bases its strength on Islamism and has tried to marginalize the Kemalist army, while making appropriate noises that would please the EU.