EU diplomats raise eyebrows over US involvement in the deal-making

[Judi Lynn]

EU diplomats raise eyebrows over US involvement in the deal-making
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels
Published: October 4 2005 18:44 | Last updated: October 4 2005 18:44

Jack Straw, British foreign secretary, could not contain his ebullience early on Tuesday when he hailed the start of European Union membership talks with Turkey.

After achieving the biggest breakthrough of Britain's EU presidency, Mr Straw excitedly whispered into the ear of his "very good friend" Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, draped his arm over Mr Gul's shoulder and allowed himself an exhausted grin. Thirty hours of talks with Ankara, Washington and other EU ministers had yielded the result London wanted, despite doubts voiced by Austria and Cyprus.

But amid the exhilaration of the British and European Commission delegations, other diplomats sounded a sour note about what some portrayed as a London-Ankara-Washington axis.

"The British consulted the Turks and the Americans before they consulted us," said one official from a heavyweight EU state.
(snip/...)

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/14d69b16-34fd-11da-9e12-00000e2511c8.html

[xchrom]

1. ah yes -- there's one way to reveal a

the goal of a hidden agenda.

more u.s. say so in european affairs.
wonder how long the e.u. will put up with that?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. If you're Aznar, you'll encourage it

by leaping into bed with the PNAC:

Here is a little scoop for TPMCafé: Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, Gary Schmitt and other members of PNAC (the Project for a New American Century) are launching a new club called “Committee for a Strong Europe.” They just began inviting politicians and pundits from both side of the Atlantic to join. The honorary chairmen will be the former Spanish prime minister José Maria Aznar and Senator John McCain.

By “Strong Europe”, of course, they don’t mean “A Europe in which governments would be strong enough to say no to any crazy American military invasion plan,” but the statement of principle of the committee is so broadly crafted than many people could sign it. The purpose is to promote democracy, to have a stronger economy, to keep confidence in our values, etc.

However, knowing where this statement comes from, when I read “We believe both the United States and Europe should invest adequately in their armed forces so as to have strong militaries capable of serving in a wide variety of missions around the world”, I can’t help but hear a little whispering voice adding: “it’s especially true for you, you goddamn tight-fisted European wimps!”

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/2/13718/6784

[CHIMO]

2. EU Trumpets New Era in Talks with Turkey

The European Union trumpeted Tuesday the launch of landmark talks with Turkey but prospects for expanding the bloc up to the Middle East border were clouded by public skepticism and political splits.

Britain's Tony Blair hailed the talks -- and said there was plenty of time to overcome all the "understandable" concerns.

But former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing -- architect of the bloc's near-dead constitution -- immediately slammed the deal, which he has warned could lead to the end of the EU.

"France used to have a grand project: the political union of Europe," he said. "We have allowed two further enlargements which are obviously going to transform Europe into a large free trade zone: that's what I regret."

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1730065,00.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/image/0,1587,1717296_6,00.jpg

[1932]

4. d'Estaing said sensible things about France's recent vote against

his constitution (he suggest Chirac wasn't interested in seeing it pass, campaigned poorly, and made the mistake of putting the entire text of the constitution up for a vote rather than reducing it an understandable idea for voters).

So, I'm curious why d'Estaing wouldn't want Turkey in the EU, and why their involvement turns the EU from a political union into a trade zone.

I'm not sure I'm any closer to understanding after googling, but I discovered that a Turkish paper had this to say:

Selmi stressed that the EU has always behaved hesitantly towards the 70-million populated Turkey, 99 percent of which is Muslim, and this mostly stemmed from religious motives. Selmi, indicating former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing had openly described the EU as a “Christian Club,” argued that denial of Turkey would prove this hypothesis.

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=20322

I couldn't find any article that confirmed that Valery thinks the problem is cultural. But I don't know what his objection is based upon after reading dozens which say that he strongly objects to Turkish membership.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Here's an IHT report of a Giscard d'Estaing interview in Le Monde

In an interview with Le Monde published Friday afternoon, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former president of France who head's Europe's constitutional convention, alluded to Turkey's Muslim population and high birthrate and said the country had "a different culture, a different approach, a different way of life."
.
"Its capital is not in Europe, 95 percent of its population live outside Europe, it is not a European country," Giscard said.
.
If Turkey were admitted, he said, other Middle Eastern and North African states, starting with Morocco, would demand to join. "In my opinion, it would be the end of the European Union," he said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2002/11/09/giscard_ed3_.php

And this would appear to be the original interview, if your French is up to it: http://www.medea.be/index.html?page=&lang=&doc=1298