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Europe
One More Knife in the Back for Turkey. For Good Measure.....
2004-11-05
Chirac says Turkey may not make it to EU
Cue Nelson Muntz: Ha Ha!
French President Jacques Chirac cautioned on Friday that Turkey might never reach the standards required for European Union membership and the bloc might have to find an alternative way to tie it to Europe. Chirac reaffirmed that he fully supported delaying things as long as possible opening accession negotiations with Ankara, as recommended by the executive European Commission, and hoped Turkey would just go away already eventually join the 25-nation bloc. But in what appeared to be a nod to widespread hostility to Turkish membership in France, which has dented his already plummeting popularity, he told a news conference at an EU summit that the outcome of the process was uncertain. "Naturellement one can't underestimate the possibility that in a few years' time we come to realise that ... the road that Turkey has to travel doesn't permit it to adopt all the values of Europe," he said. "In that case, what has to be found is a means to create a sufficiently strong link so that there is no separation between Europe and Turkey, without there being integration."
Oui, M. le President. Separate but almost equal.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul played down Chirac's remarks, saying they reflected French domestic politics. "President Chirac is very wise, he's handled it very wisely, he's a great statesman. I think his statement should not be misread," he told Reuters.
"See? I'm smiling, here. My teeth are clenched, but I'm smiling. Smile smile smile."
Gul told reporters he was following the French debate on Turkish membership and saw it as an internal matter, but he hoped it would be kept separate from a debate on the ratification of a constitutional treaty for the bloc. Chirac's own conservative UMP party has opposed Turkish EU membership, as has the centre-right UDF party and some of the opposition Socialists. The president said the issues should be examined calmly a few years after Turkey has begun negotiations and not made subject to "politicians' squabbling."
"These things take time. And long, long lunches."
Germany's opposition Christian Democrats say the EU should negotiate a "privileged partnership" instead of full membership. Diplomats said Chirac's comments did not call into question an expected EU decision on Dec. 17 to begin open-ended accession talks with Turkey next year.
Posted by:danking70

#21  

Haahahaahahaaaa!!!!

Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2004-11-05 10:56:05 PM  

#20  I think Kalle nailed the best case situation for Turkey, a free trade agreement. What benefit do Europeans get by opening the border w/ Turkey vs. the downside.
Posted by: ed   2004-11-05 8:34:15 PM  

#19  D'Estaing (sp) told them right after they screwed US that they're not going to become a part of Turkey.

They've been telling that all along.

Not my fault they fell for the frog prince's promises.
Posted by: anonymous2u   2004-11-05 7:56:24 PM  

#18  I dunno, Mrs. Davis. I've traveled extensively in Eastern Europe with an early-christian/Baroque musical group, and my darker colleagues were greeted as a not-entirely-welcome novelty. Kind of like the greeting a talking dog gets---not welcome because it talks well, but simple amazement that it talks at all. The reception we got in many churches left me with a bad taste.
Posted by: Asedwich   2004-11-05 7:55:19 PM  

#17  Turkey is potentially a key player in the success of Iraq.

Forget about military considerations and look at where the major rivers originate. If it wanted and were willing to push things, Turkey could make a decent stab at controlling water flow throughout much of the Middle East.

Fortunately dams are easy to blow up.
Posted by: rkb   2004-11-05 7:50:39 PM  

#16  It's not the color of their skin, but that they rejected Christianity in the wrong century.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis   2004-11-05 7:30:37 PM  

#15  The heck with where Murat is, where is Aris? What's the deal here? The EU can't possibly be too bigoted against those "separate but equal" "darkies" in Turkey, can they?
Posted by: Asedwich   2004-11-05 7:26:37 PM  

#14  The only thing they should have between Europe and Turkey is a very big wall, heavily mined on the European side.

Posted by: Ulique Snearong2968   2004-11-05 6:31:03 PM  

#13  As Jaques looks down from the castle walls

Go away you silly boys, you ignorant fruit trop wollopers. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries

With appologies to the boys from Monty Python
Posted by: Cheaderhead   2004-11-05 5:06:58 PM  

#12  Nice plunge but they're not twisting the knife. Twist it! Twist it, dammit! Give it a twist! Twist! Aw heck, here - lemme.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2004-11-05 4:14:27 PM  

#11  Ya know, I was thinking about Turkey. If the ME would get its head out of its Jiihadi ass long enough, it would be neat to have a ME type common market between, say Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and eventually Israel. Others could come in as they escaped the fetters of Islamofascism. The US could develop close trading ties with this common market. There is a lot hinging on Iraq right now. But I see no future for Turkey with the EU except trade. I can dream, can't I?
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2004-11-05 4:08:57 PM  

#10  Oui, M. le President. Separate but almost equal.

Damn, speaking of cutlery between the shoulderblades!

9.86
Posted by: Shipman   2004-11-05 3:45:26 PM  

#9  Yabbut if Iraq becomes the Japan of the Middle East, why would Turkey want to bother hooking up with Europe?
[The above was writ sarcastik.]
Posted by: Old Grouch   2004-11-05 3:42:23 PM  

#8  Gee, I wonder if Turkey would be willing to belong to a "Middle East Union" along with Iraq and Israel?
Posted by: Anonymoose   2004-11-05 3:41:22 PM  

#7  Turkey is not part of Europe. They're a Moslem country that shares none of the European heritage of the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.

The only thing they should have between Europe and Turkey is a free-trade agreement, after proper apologies and compensation for the Armenian genocide. Then let them grow a bit more prosperous and see if they adopt pro-freedom attitudes. Probably will. In a generation or two. Especially if Iraq becomes the Japan of the Middle East.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever)   2004-11-05 3:28:49 PM  

#6  HA! Gul'd again!
Posted by: mojo   2004-11-05 3:23:00 PM  

#5  Where's Murat?

"Privleged partnership" is that sorta like sittin' in the back of the bus?
Posted by: AlanC   2004-11-05 3:02:44 PM  

#4  If you lie down with weasels, you wake up with a piece of cutlery between the shoulder blades.
Posted by: Mike   2004-11-05 2:59:18 PM  

#3  OK, I have to say this to Turkey:

I TOLD YOU SO!
Posted by: Chuck Simmins   2004-11-05 2:58:53 PM  

#2  Lol! Oh Gul, you are such a tool!
Posted by: .com   2004-11-05 2:51:17 PM  

#1  Too bad the Turks looked to Europe instead of trying to fashion a stronger relationship with the US. Turkey could have been the dominant power in a revitalized Middle East.
Posted by: RWV   2004-11-05 2:49:53 PM  

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