French prime minister calls on Turkey to recognise Cyprus
French prime minister calls on Turkey to recognise CyprusThe French prime minister has questioned whether it is conceivable to open EU membership talks with Turkey if it does not recognise Cyprus. Speaking to French radio on Tuesday (2 August), Dominique de Villepin said, "It seems to me inconceivable that such a negotiation process can begin with a country which does not recognise every one of the members of the European Union, that is to say the 25". "There is a principle there that seems to me must be defended, and is one France will make clear to Turkey as well as to other European Union countries during the next meetings", he said. Mr de Villepin's remarks come just two months before the bloc has formally committed itself to opening talks with Ankara and appears to add another condition to the opening of negotiations.
Turkey divides voters and politicians
The European Union is an exclusive club, and Turkey should be kept out. This seems to be the general opinion in Denmark, daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten reported on Friday. Six out of ten Danes are against Turkey joining the EU, while only 20 percent are positive, according to a new poll conducted by Rambøll Management for the newspaper. The accession negotiations are scheduled to begin on 3 October, but voters across Europe are sceptical about going ahead with the talks. Opinion polls in all 25 EU countries have revealed that more than half of citizens do not want Turkey to join. Despite their voters' opposition, politicians are still convinced that Turkey has a future in the EU. The majority of political parties said they supported going ahead as planned with the negotiations.
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