Turkije boos over Franse plannen voor toetredingsreferenda (en)
Turkey has criticised a French plan to introduce an obligatory referendum as the method for ratifying large countries' EU membership in the future, saying it is "discriminatory" and endangers bilateral relations.
The French National Assembly on Tuesday approved a constitutional reform plan that contains a clause making holding a referendum compulsory to approve the EU accession of any country whose population surpasses five percent of the EU population – currently around 500 million people.
The move is seen as targeting Turkey in particular, as France is strongly opposed to its EU membership ambitions.
Ankara is "irked by efforts to enshrine such a discriminatory approach towards Turkey in the French constitution despite the fact that accession negotiations [between Turkey and the EU] have started with France's consent," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin was quoted as saying by Turkish newspapers.
"It is inevitable that this kind of discriminative approach will harm our bilateral relations and will also have a negative impact on images of Turkey and France in each country as well as on the traditional friendship between the peoples of the two countries," he added, according to daily Zaman.
Ukraine as another EU hopeful which would be affected by the bill – it has some 46 million inhabitants – has also criticised it and called it "unfair" and "artificial".
The constitutional reform plan was approved by 315 against 231 votes on Tuesday, with most centre-right deputies of the French parliament's lower house voting in favour, and leftist MPs opposing it.
The bill now has to be approved by the Senate, and the Congress is then to make the final decision, expected in July, by a three-fifths majority.
Turkey officially started EU accession talks in 2005, but negotiations in only six policy areas have started so far.
Some negotiating chapters have been blocked by France, which will be taking over the EU's rotating presidency in July, as they are seen as too political and central to EU membership.