Forbes
May 24 2005
Chirac says EU constitution would put back Turkey accession
05.24.2005, 12:47 PM
PARIS (AFX) – President Jacques Chirac said that the adoption of the
EU constitution would extend the timeframe for Turkey’s accession
into the union.
Chirac’s comments came in a letter to the France-based CCAF
association of Armenian organisations, and at a time when key
proponents of the constitution ramp up efforts to convince the
electorate ahead of the referendum on Sunday.
Polls released over the past two weeks have indicated strongly that a
vote against the treaty is likely.
Chirac told the CCAF that Turkey ‘still has a long way to go’ in its
bid for EU membership, and that this will become even harder under a
constitution which will ‘recognise fundamental rights and
liberties… and guarantee them to all European citizens.’
The Armenian community in France, some 400,000-strong, has been
expected to lean towards a ‘no’ vote as a means to stop Turkey’s
accession. Community leaders have insisted that France urge Turkey to
acknowledge the 1915 genocide which left an estimated 1-1.5 mln
Armenians dead, as part of the accession talks.