Tweet
SARKOZY CANCELS SWEDEN VISIT OVER TURKEY
ArmInfo
2009-05-29 14:21:00
ArmInfo. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled a visit
to Sweden scheduled for next Tuesday (2 June) in order to avoid a
clash on the question of Turkey's EU membership just days before the
European elections and a month before Stockholm takes over the EU's
rotating presidency.
As Euobserver reports, Mr Sarkozy's office said the trip was cancelled
"for agenda reasons".
But the French president, who is an outspoken opponent of Turkey's
entry to the European Union, did not want to highlight the strong
divergence of views on this topic with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt, Le Monde reported on Thursday (28 May).
For its part, Sweden favours further EU enlargement, including to
Turkey. On Monday this week, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt
told Le Figaro newspaper that the EU had "a strategic interest"
in Turkey's EU integration and warned against "closing the door" to
Ankara. In the Figaro interview, Mr Bildt said: "My vision of Europe
is not as defensive as I observe it with other people".
"Nicolas Sarkozy cancelled his visit because of the Carl Bildt
interview," one minister told Le Monde. To recall, the president
of France, as well the German chancellor have multiply claimed of
inadmissibility of Turkey's joining EU. 'I want to say that Europe
has certain borders and not all the countries may become its full
members. This also concerns Turkey which has no place in EU. Unlimited
extension of the European Union may cause destruction of the European
political union, and I cannot admit that', N. Sarkozy said even during
his election campaign in 2007.
ArmInfo
2009-05-29 14:21:00
ArmInfo. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has cancelled a visit
to Sweden scheduled for next Tuesday (2 June) in order to avoid a
clash on the question of Turkey's EU membership just days before the
European elections and a month before Stockholm takes over the EU's
rotating presidency.
As Euobserver reports, Mr Sarkozy's office said the trip was cancelled
"for agenda reasons".
But the French president, who is an outspoken opponent of Turkey's
entry to the European Union, did not want to highlight the strong
divergence of views on this topic with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt, Le Monde reported on Thursday (28 May).
For its part, Sweden favours further EU enlargement, including to
Turkey. On Monday this week, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt
told Le Figaro newspaper that the EU had "a strategic interest"
in Turkey's EU integration and warned against "closing the door" to
Ankara. In the Figaro interview, Mr Bildt said: "My vision of Europe
is not as defensive as I observe it with other people".
"Nicolas Sarkozy cancelled his visit because of the Carl Bildt
interview," one minister told Le Monde. To recall, the president
of France, as well the German chancellor have multiply claimed of
inadmissibility of Turkey's joining EU. 'I want to say that Europe
has certain borders and not all the countries may become its full
members. This also concerns Turkey which has no place in EU. Unlimited
extension of the European Union may cause destruction of the European
political union, and I cannot admit that', N. Sarkozy said even during
his election campaign in 2007.