French Parliament Divided on Turkey’s EU Accession

Along with Raffarin, Foreign Minister Michael Barnier and the Green Party supported Turkey, but some deputies of the Union for a Popular Movement Party (UMP), the French Democracy Union (UDF), and some Socialist Party deputies stood against Turkey’s membership.

Raffarin tried to calm down the parties opposed to Turkey with a speech in which he said Turkey is connected to Europe with historical and geographical ties and its desire to take place among EU members is "legitimate". When the time comes, this will come to life, added Raffarin. A modern, democratic and stable Turkey will add new horizons to Europe and France is ready to take Turkey’s side during the reform process, underlined the French Prime Minister.

"Turkey shouldn’t be left in the arms of those who want a clash of civilizations and an Islam-West clash," said the French Prime Minister as he stressed that Turkey is undergoing big change and should be given time to fulfill the membership conditions. He also said that if Turkey fails to meet the requisites, its membership will not take place. In that case, he said, the process may end with a "privileged membership". "History will decide on Turkey’s EU membership," he said.

Meanwhile, Barnier said EU should start membership negotiations for Turkey and that a country that has met the Copenhagen Criteria needs to be given the opportunity to prove itself. The Union will have the control and, if needed, negotiations can be suspended.

When asked whether or not recognition of the alleged Armenian genocide could be a pre-condition, Barnier said that the subject is not among the Copenhagen Criteria.

Speaking on behalf of the Green Party, Noel Mamere said that the Greens support Turkey’s accession to the Union. While enumerating the reasons for their support, Mamere said, "For the EU’s multicultural development, to show it is not a Christian club, and to prevent a clash of civilizations, we support the start of membership negotiations for Turkey."

The Communist Party’s parliamentary group president, Alain Bocquet, took the floor and argued that the EU Constitution should be approved before saying "yes" to negotiations with Turkey. Bocquet accused the power of neglecting the issue of Constitution discussions to address the Turkey issue. The president of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission, Edouard Balladur, said the EU’s priority is to approve the Constitution and pointed out the importance of achieving integration with the new members before taking another step toward another enlargement. Balladur went on to say that starting membership negotiations with Turkey jeopardizes approval of the EU Constitution. He supported a "privileged partnership" instead of full membership. Meanwhile, there was division within the Socialist party. Some socialist deputies demanded recognition of the alleged Armenian genocide as a pre-condition while some of the party’s members supported Turkey’s bid.