CHIRAC PUTS NEW HURDLE ON TURKEY’S ACCESSION

EurActiv, Belgium
Oct 2 2006

In Short:

French President Jacques Chirac believes that admission of the Armenian
genocide should be a precondition for Turkey’s entry to the EU.

Brief News:

The comments by Chirac come only few days after the European Parliament
decided not to make recognition of the Armenian genocide a precondition
to Turkey’s EU accession, in its report voted on 27 September (see
EurActiv, 28 September 2006).

When asked, if Turkey had to recognise the mass killings of Armenians,
between 1915 and 1917 under the Ottoman Empire, to join the EU,
Chirac said: "Honestly, I believe it does. Each country grows by
acknowledging its dramas and mistakes of the past."

The French Parliament is to discuss a law making denial of the Armenian
genocide punishable with up to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of
45,000 euro, on 12 October 2006.

A Turkish-embassy official in Belgium did not want to comment on
Chirac’s statement.

The statement comes at a time when EU-Turkey negotiations face a
slowdown, due to unresolved issues, such as Cyprus and freedom of
speech, which have hindered further progress so far. The Commission
is to publish its progress report on Turkey on 8 November 2006.

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