Frankrijk zegt toe Turkse toetreding niet te dwarsbomen (en)
France - one of staunchest opponents of Turkey's EU membership bid - has said it will not hinder the country's accession process during its time at the head of the 27-nation bloc, starting in July.
"France has no intention of breaking up Turkey's negotiation process," French secretary of state for European affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet was quoted as saying on Tuesday (6 May) after meeting Turkish foreign minister Ali Babacan in Ankara.
France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has repeatedly voiced his opposition to Turkey's EU accession, saying that the country does not belong to Europe.
Mr Jouyet underlined, however, that the French presidency of the EU in the second half of this year would be "objective, impartial and balanced," according to French news agency AFP.
Mr Babacan said he too expected that France's time at the head of the EU would not slow down his country's EU accession process.
"We expect our accession process to continue normally, without problems, during the French presidency... We expect concrete progress," he told a press conference.
Turkey launched EU accession negotiations in 2005, but has so far opened talks on only six out of the 35 chapters needed in order for the accession negotiations to be closed.
Its possible membership of the bloc is dividing member states, with France and Germany seen as the main opponents to Turkey's EU bid. They favour offering a pared down version of membership which they call "privileged partnership."
A "decisive" year
Also speaking in the margins of Tuesday's EU-Turkey meeting, Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel, chairing the talks, said this year would be "a decisive year for the reform process" in Turkey and called on Ankara to fully use it.
For his part, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn i also stressed that "the negotiations are on track, but their pace could be faster. That depends on ... consistent and far-reaching legal and democratic reforms to create a more open society."
He welcomed recent reforms in the country - particularly the recently adopted amendment of a controversial article in the penal code foreseeing up to three years in prison for insulting "Turkishness", but said they now needed to be implemented.
Mr Rehn also expressed concern that a closure case against Turkey's ruling centre-right Justice and Development party (AKP) could threaten the political stability in the country.
The country's Constitutional Court in March agreed to hear a case filed by Turkey's top prosecutor, aiming to shut down the AKP accused of having become the centre of anti-secular activities.
"From the point of view of the EU, we want to see Turkey soon overcome this crisis," he said.
The EU also said an investigation into the "indiscriminate use of force" during a crackdown on demonstrating workers in Istanbul on 1 May is needed.
Meer over...