Turkey angered by Sarkozy 'Mediterranean Union' idea

[Crvena zvezda]

Turkey angered by Sarkozy 'Mediterranean Union' idea

Turkey has strongly criticised a proposal, floated by France's new president Nicolas Sarkozy, to set up a "Mediterranean Union" as an alternative to the country's bid for full EU membership, urging the French leader to respect the commitments of the past.

"Turkey is a country that has started [accession] negotiations with the European Union. The negotiations started on the basis of a [EU] decision which was taken unanimously, including France," Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul was cited as saying by AFP.




According to Mr Gul, who has steered Turkey's EU accession talks, "putting obstacles to the progress of the negotiation process would amount to violating signatures and promises made in the past, which I do not think will happen."

Nicolas Sarkozy - known as a firm opponent of Ankara's EU bid – has already indicated he will push for a definition of the bloc's "stable" borders and a re-orientation of talks with the sizeable and relatively poor Muslim country.

The new French leader has suggested forming a loose grouping of 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, with Turkey to be the backbone of the club.

Under Mr Sarkozy's plan, the group – in order to tie southern Europe with Israel and its Arab neighbors – would form an EU-like council with a rotating presidency and deal with topical issues such as energy, security, counter-terrorism, immigration and trade.

But the idea has met with anger in Ankara, with Mr Gul saying "Turkey is one of the Mediterranean countries, but cooperation in the Mediterranean is one thing and cooperation within Europe is something else."

Ankara began negotiations to join the 27-nation bloc in 2005, but talks on most of the key issues are presently frozen because of Turkey's long-standing dispute with EU member Cyprus.

So far, Turkey has completed compliance with EU legislation in only one area - science and research.

[Kernunnos]

This is the first intelligent statement that Sarkozi makes. I hope that he might be sincere up to the last, since his background is jewish neconist: and jewish neocons are the stronger advocates for the entrance of Turkey in EU, because it is of vital strategical interest to US and Israel. I hope he won't be another Merkel, please think of me as of an old pessimist ... so I won't ruin your digestion.

[Theobald]

Breha, I think you got Sarkozy's ideas wrong.

His "Mediterranean Union" is no better than Turkey's EU membership. He said that "what was done with European Union, we can do it with Mediterranean area", which means first a common market and an economic union and then a political union and a Schengen-like treaty, with nice and friendly countries such as Algeria, Turkey, Syria or Lybia...

The Mediterranean Union would mean the institutionalization of the invasion of Europe, and a legal (!) transfer of power from Paris, Madrid and Roma to Algiers and Ankara.

[Crvena zvezda]

Originally Posted by Theobald

Breha, I think you got Sarkozy's ideas wrong.

His "Mediterranean Union" is no better than Turkey's EU membership. He said that "what was done with European Union, we can do it with Mediterranean area", which means first a common market and an economic union and then a political union and a Schengen-like treaty, with nice and friendly countries such as Algeria, Turkey, Syria or Lybia...

The Mediterranean Union would mean the institutionalization of the invasion of Europe, and a legal (!) transfer of power from Paris, Madrid and Roma to Algiers and Ankara.

If it were such an idea then Turkey shouldn't be opposed. I believe the Turks fear that Sarkozy wants a "Mediterranean Union" of countries that are not part of Europe.

[Franze]

It´s true that turkish and arabic people have a so bad relationship! I say this, because it could be reason for not being comfortable in that club.

[Errigal]

I think this is a backdoor way to get a bunch of Arab countries, along with Turkey and Israel, into the EU eventually. How could states be members of both the EU and the Mediterranean Union without it turning into one large group? It is a really dangerous idea IMO.

[ewald steiner]

Sarkizzy speaks with a forked tongue. He says one thing and do the opposite. The man is a dyed in the wool of the multicultural, trostkyte philosophy of the cosmovision; he lives in france, his spirit breathes the air of Washington-tel aviv; he is an international truckler; as a true follower he'll execute the script to the last "i" and "t". He may be barking like a woolfhound against turkey's accession, under the table though he is manicuring the lawn for a concealed inclusion. He may not call it eu accession, but a mediterranean union where you have turkey and other traditional enemies of europe enjoying special "trade relations" its just as disastrous for the european as formal accession.

There is no escape from the vicegrip of demo-libero-trostkite asfixia within the system. The solution for an escape and salvage operation is to be found outside the system. The stranglehold ought to be broken.

[darkmorin]

EUROPE ! YOUTH ! REVOLUTION !

sarkozy wears a very strong symbol : the european won't an islamist country in the union .
and the idea of a mediteranean union is really crazy , because of immigration of course....

[Menydh]

I think that the idea goes along the lines pointed by Theobald.

It is very likely that the said Mediterranean Union is presented as an option to prevent the entry of Turkey in the European Union and, thus, in Europe.

But that's a very simplistic reading of it. Surely the kind of reading that Sarkozy intends people to people.

The reality is completely different. Since a Mediterranean Union would include, at the least, Turkey, Tunis, Algeria and Morocco, we get four for the price of one.

Of course the argument would be that it is not the European Union. But I wonder how how much it changes. If you make a union of those countries with countries of Mediterranean Europe which are member of the European Union, the inclusion is implied and you don't even need a consensus of the people of the EU.

You don't even need to open formal EU entry to those countries. They'll be inside without the need for it.

[Kernunnos]

Originally Posted by ewald steiner

Sarkizzy speaks with a forked tongue. He says one thing and do the opposite. The man is a dyed in the wool of the multicultural, trostkyte philosophy of the cosmovision; he lives in france, his spirit breathes the air of Washington-tel aviv; he is an international truckler; as a true follower he\'ll execute the script to the last "i" and "t". He may be barking like a woolfhound against turkey\'s accession, under the table though he is manicuring the lawn for a concealed inclusion. He may not call it eu accession, but a mediterranean union where you have turkey and other traditional enemies of europe enjoying special "trade relations" its just as disastrous for the european as formal accession.

There is no escape from the vicegrip of demo-libero-trostkite asfixia within the system. The solution for an escape and salvage operation is to be found outside the system. The stranglehold ought to be broken.

It is the typical freemasonic way of ac ting. They slowly create unions of states, eroding national states. Then the big unions will become so hogeneized by the same goals that they will eb able to join together. Slowly, gutta cavat lapidem, and all made in a surreptitious, slick and gradual way. To skin the chiken without making it cry, as it is said in Italy.

[Crvena zvezda]

Seem's the so-called anti-Turkey sarkozy has decided not to prevent Turkish ascession to the EU.

France gives stay of execution on Turkey EU hopes

30.05.2007 - 09:25 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
France has confirmed that it will agree to press ahead with Turkey's EU membership talks for now, and push for a broader decision in December on whether or not to scrap the country's accession process altogether.

A French government official was quoted by French media as saying on Tuesday (29 May) that Paris will not try to block the German EU presidency's plan to open one to three "negotiating chapters" with Ankara this month.

New French president Nicolas Sarkozy will instead focus on EU institutional reform under a new EU treaty, set to dominate the June summit, while returning to the wider enlargement debate - including Turkey - at the end of this year.

"My priority is the success of the German presidency and the European council on June 21 and 22. What do we have to do to try to break the institutional blockage," Mr Sarkozy told reports on Monday.

"The real rendezvous [on Turkey] will be in December 2007," he said, referring to the traditional end-of-year summit.

Turkey's talks - kicked off in October 2005 - were put on ice last December in eight out of 35 areas covered by EU legislation due to a dispute over Cyprus. Both Brussels and Ankara have been trying to keep talks going at a technical level in the meantime.

So far, two chapters have been opened - on research and industry - with Berlin now planning to secure the opening of up to three more sections of the accession package, covering statistics, financial control and economic and monetary policy.

In its own initiative earlier this year, Turkey's government adopted a seven-year agenda aiming to put in place most of the so-called acquis communautaire - the EU lawbook - by 2013 despite the freeze on some chapters.

But the arrival of Mr Sarkozy has put the whole process into question, with the new French president saying Turkey has "no place" in Europe and suggesting some sort of privileged partnership instead of EU entry.

Mr Sarkozy also sees Turkey as playing a leading role in a new project to set up a "Mediterranean Union," which would deal with regional issues and could comprise several southern EU member states, Turkey and some north African countries.

But Ankara has rejected such plans, pointing out its existing status as a candidate country for full EU membership.