Why am I not surprised? France's goal from "day one" has been to use the EU to create a French run Europe.
EURSOC - France Tells Turkey: No Entry
EURSOC Two
08 April, 2004
France has announced that it will oppose Turkey's membership of the European Union for the time being.
In one of his first speeches since his appointment one week ago, new foreign minister (and former EU commissioner) Michel Barnier told the French senate that Turkey "Does not respect the conditions" required for EU accession.
As the Guardian reports, Barnier's speech comes at a delicate time for Turkey and the EU. The United Nations is urging Greek and Turkish Cypriots to approve a power-sharing plan, which has just been endorsed by Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. France's stance, the newspaper continues, could play into the hands of Turkish nationalists who oppose the UN proposals.
France may have other motives for barring Turkish accession. Turkey is a member of NATO - an alliance France would like to see weakened prior to its eventual replacement with an EU armed force. Turkey's large population of 66.7 million (and growing, fast) would make it second only to Germany in influence for EU votes. Its poverty, too, would threaten subsidies that France would rather see continue to go to French farmers.
In many respects France's discomfort with Turkey's application repeats some of the ambivalence it felt before the EU agreed to grant membership to the ten mainly central European nations who become full members next month.
Apart from, of course, the Islam issue - even though France is a determinedly secular state, many in the nation, including some among its elite, see the EU as a club for members with a common (read Christian) heritage.
France is probably not alone in opposing Turkish membership of the EU - similar concerns were aired in the European parliament last week. Germany, which has a large Turkish migrant population, is said to be wary of Turkish accession. It is possible that Barnier's speech may have been a favour to his Germany counterpart, who might not be able to declare his opposition so openly.
French farmers aside, it is already proving difficult to convince cash-strapped rich nations to pay for their poorer central European neighbours, without the prospect of another 70 million potential Europeans to subsidise.
Immigration is a delicate issue in many western EU nations. If governments are having problems preparing voters for an influx of mainly white central European migrants, persuading them to accept more mainly brown Muslim migrants could be even harder.
Despite all this, some nations, Britain included, are determined to set a date for negotiations on Turkish membership of the EU. The Turks themselves are keen and have pursued policies demanded by the EU before talks begin.
© Copyright 2000-2002 EPN |
