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?

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Last edited by tnt_ on Oct-05-2005 at 04:41