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France: EU Enlargement Should Be Halted
 France's interior minister said Monday that European Union enlargement should be suspended after the entry of Romania and Bulgaria — a clear swipe at Turkey's efforts to join the bloc. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said France's rejection of the EU constitution in a May referendum showed the need for several changes. "We have to rethink and rework our European politics," he said. The comments came after Sarkozy met with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who was chairing a series of meetings with political party leaders on the lessons to be learned from France's "no" to the EU constitution. French and Dutch voters soundly rejected the constitution in separate referendums, with many expressing misgivings over a wave of immigrants in countries like France struggling with double-digit joblessness. Many also said they rejected the treaty because they were opposed to mostly Muslim Turkey joining the EU — an issue that became a point of contention in the run-up to the vote. Membership talks with Turkey are to begin in October. Posted by: Fred 2005-06-28 |
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