What does France wants?

We have to consider the following elements in evaluating France’s current stance: Giving Ankara a date for EU accession talks and Turkey’s EU membership are two different issues. French officials, including Barnier, haven’t said anything against giving a date for Turkey’s accession talks. They specify that they will decide together with other members in light of this fall’s European Commission report. French President Jacques Chirac, who prefers not to talk about the issue due to domestic political concerns, will decide in December, most probably after conferring with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. And if the report is positive, the decision will be in favor of giving Ankara a date for accession talks…

Turning to the issue of membership, Barnier and many other French officials don’t expect Turkey’s EU membership ‘under today’s conditions’ or are against such a decision. However, the process beginning with the accession talks with an eye to membership will be quite long (this process was 10 years for Spain and Portugal and seven for Greece). Why does Barnier then insist on saying that Turkey can’t become an EU member ‘under today’s circumstances’? There are domestic political concerns at this point. The ‘Turkish question’ is on the agenda of this June’s European Parliament elections. Extreme left- and right-wing parties are against Turkey’s EU membership. There are various reasons for this: Some are anxious about the membership of a ‘Muslim country’ like Turkey, and some are worried about Turkey’s ‘huge population’ shaking Europe’s stability… Consequently, the right wing in France doesn’t favor Turkey’s EU membership and is pressuring the government, which is center-right. But Chirac prefers to shy from these disputes and not to talk before the June elections…

Turkey should take a nuanced policy at this point. France is an important country both for its position in the EU and its relations with Ankara. Bilateral relations are going well. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to visit Chirac in Paris this July. Being skeptical about France or acting in a way that would put Chirac in a difficult position would be counterproductive. French authorities should be given time to take a more positive stance…”