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Chirac backs Turkey's EU entry in talks with Erdogan

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  • Chirac backs Turkey's EU entry in talks with Erdogan

    Agence France Presse -- English
    July 20, 2004 Tuesday 4:09 PM Eastern Time

    Chirac backs Turkey's EU entry in talks with Erdogan

    by HUGH SCHOFIELD

    PARIS

    French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday reaffirmed his support for
    Turkey's eventual membership of the European Union during talks with
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    That was a political victory for Erdogan, but the prime minister was
    irked at a news conference by questions whether Turkey intended to
    apologize for the alleged genocide of Armenians under the Ottoman
    empire in 1915.

    Erdogan said membership of the EU "does not imply the recognition of
    an Armenian genocide" and suggested this was a matter best left to
    historians.

    However, the French Socialist party says such recognition is
    necessary, even if it supports Turkey's entry into the EU. Turkey was
    particularly irritated in 2001 when the French National Assembly
    formally recognized that genocide had taken place.

    According to a Chirac aide, the president said that "Turkey's
    integration into the EU is welcome as soon as it becomes possible...
    Turkey has made considerable progress. It must continue and intensify
    the implementation of democratic and economic reforms."

    Erdogan on Wednesday wraps up three-day visit to France to lobby for
    support ahead of a crucial decision by EU heads of government in
    December whether to grant Turkey the right to accession talks.

    Chirac has previously said he believes the path to Turkish membership
    is "irreversible," but he is at odds with many in his own Union for a
    Popular Movement (UMP) party and the public who believe the
    predominantly Muslim and Asian country has no place in the club of
    25.

    Speaking to reporters after his lunch with Chirac, Erdogan appeared
    keen to reassure a dubious French population, saying that any
    decision "would not be on Turkish membership of the EU, but on the
    beginning of negotiations on membership."

    He later thanked the president for his "constructive approach" and
    positive attititude concerning the prospective Turkish EU membership.

    Earlier French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier warned that even if
    the talks are given the go-ahead Turkey's accession would not be
    automatic.

    "We have to tell the truth. It is not tomorrow that Turkey will be
    entering the EU. The road ahead is still long. It has been on this
    road for some time preparing itself and making progress," he told
    Europe 1 radio.

    The governing majority was not united on the issue. Francois Bayrou,
    the leader of Chirac's coalition partner, the Union for French
    Democracy, reiterated his opposition to Turkey's EU bid, saying that
    allowing the bloc to take in "countries that belong to other
    continents and other cultures" would create "a weak Europe that will
    be incapable of taking action."

    Erdogan met early Tuesday with French business leaders and urged them
    to use their weight to argue Turkey's case for entry. France's
    business elite sides with Ankara, seeing the country as a major
    economic opportunity.

    "I am convinced that French economic circles can make a contribution
    to the diplomatic process, and we await it," he said.

    The debate over Turkey's right to join the EU has been particularly
    robust in France, where there is strong opposition both from those
    who fear its implications for immigration and Europe's cultural
    heritage, and those who say it will mean the end of their vision for
    a politically integrated continent.

    The nationalist leader Philippe de Villiers on Tuesday condemned
    Erdogan's visit and what he described as Chirac's "determination" to
    see Turkey join the EU. He said he would ensure Turkey's membership
    is at the "heart of the debate" ahead of next year's planned
    referendum on the EU constitution.

    Meanwhile Chirac's office confirmed that negotiations to sell mid-
    and long-range Airbus passenger aircraft to Turkish Airlines were in
    their final stages.
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