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-- EU hails Turkey membership talks

Posted by tnt_ on Oct-04-2005 22:00:

EU hails Turkey membership talks

quote:
Both European and Turkish leaders have welcomed the official start of European Union membership talks with Turkey.

The opening ceremony came 40 years after Turkey took its first step towards requesting membership.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the deal - which followed more than 24 hours of fraught talks among EU nations - was a historic moment.

The move has not been universally welcomed in Europe, however, and even in Turkey popular support has fallen.

Agreement was reached on the framework for the membership talks only after last-minute wrangling by EU foreign ministers

The turning point came when Austria withdrew its demand that Turkey be offered an option short of full membership - a possibility flatly rejected by Turkey.

Austria's Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel has defended his country's position, saying he was "proud" of its tough stance.

Observers have suggested Austria's eventual concession on Turkey was linked to the EU's decision also to begin membership discussions with its neighbour, Croatia.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw greeted Mr Gul warmly when he arrived in Luxembourg for the late-night opening ceremony.

Mr Straw called it a "truly historic day for Europe and the whole of the international community".

He warned it would be a "long road ahead", with negotiations expected to take a decade, but added, "I have no doubt that if bringing Turkey in is the prize, it is worth fighting".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4307700.stm

your opinion? does turkey really belong to europe? is europe ready to feed 50 million people?

Posted by Subey on Oct-05-2005 01:34:

Good news for the world

Posted by Nitrogliserin on Oct-05-2005 23:11:

Re: EU hails Turkey membership talks

quote:
Originally posted by tnt_
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4307700.stm

your opinion? does turkey really belong to europe? is europe ready to feed 50 million people?

70 million

Posted by Alex on Oct-06-2005 03:35:

As much as this is good news (in my opinion)...

The EU is going to fall apart or at least erode enough to render Europe into it's state of origin.

Old folgies with longstanding feuds and or grudges.

Me thinks Turkey's just been invited to a party with a bunch of drunk brawlers screaming "you slept wit mah wife!!!!".

Posted by trancaholic on Oct-06-2005 08:03:

Well, it will be a long time and a lot of reforms, before Turkey actually becomes a member. But I'm very happy about this.

Anyway, a Turkish friend of mine told me about the role of the millitary in Turkey. It has basically acted as a safe guard against reforms too inspired by Islam, toppling any government with non-secular ideas. When Turkey enters the EU, how would this safety mechanism work? At one hand the EU is a secular organisation, and thus aligned with the Turkish millitary, but on the other it cannot have coups within its borders?