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Dutch minister opposes EU balloting on Turkey
Foreign Minister Ben Bot of the Netherlands, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, on Sunday criticized French and Austrian plans to hold referendums on Turkish membership in the EU, saying such moves could keep Turkey out of the bloc.
Yep. French got what they wanted from the Turks in 2003, and now it's time to screw them.
"I do not think it's very fair to move the goal posts in the middle of a match," Bot said on Dutch public television. "We have never said to the Turks, neither in 1999 nor in 2002, that a referendum would lie at the end of the process. We have to be fair." President Jacques Chirac of France, who has had to juggle his support for Turkey's EU hopes with skepticism among politicians and the public, has promised a referendum on ratifying Turkey's eventual EU membership. In Austria, President Heinz Fischer on Sunday added his voice to a call from Chancellor Wolfgang SchÃŒssel for a European referendum on Turkish membership. SchÃŒssel has said that in any event there would be a vote in Austria.

There were fresh signs Sunday of the unpopularity of the Turkish decision in some countries. Supporters of Italy's populist Northern League party took to the streets of Milan to protest against the start of talks and demanded a referendum on the issue. Banners said, "After the Chinese, now the Turks: Businesses are at risk" and, "Yes to Christian roots." But in Turkey, celebrations continued. Foreign Minster Abdullah Gul said that the EU decision contributed to the Muslim country's stability and gave it a new position in Europe and the Islamic world. "Turkey is a very different country than two days ago," Gul told supporters in Ankara.
Wait til several Euro countries vote 'no'.

Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-12-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=51680