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Slovak Parties Divided Over Turkey's EU Membership

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  • Slovak Parties Divided Over Turkey's EU Membership

    SLOVAK PARTIES DIVIDED OVER TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP
    by Igor Stupnan

    Sme, Bratislava, Slovakia
    Dec 1 2006

    "Even Pope does not change KDH's opinion on Turkey"

    Even the Pope's visit to Turkey and his words that Ankara should
    enter the European Union have not changed the opinion of Hrusovsky's
    Christian Democratic Movement [KDH] and Slota's Slovak National Party
    [SNS]. They still reject the admission of Muslim Turkey to the EU.

    Other parliamentary parties say that if Turkey meets the criteria
    for entry, there is no reason to prevent its integration.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the meeting
    with Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday [28 November] that the head of the
    Catholic Church wanted his country to enter the EU. The Vatican did
    not refute the prime minister's statement, but its spokesman was
    more cautious and explained that the Pope did not have any power
    to influence Europe's decision to admit Turkey, but he supported
    Turkey's integration.

    KDH leader Pavol Hrusovsky says that he does not have enough
    information on whether the Pope said that he wanted Turkey in the EU.

    According to Hrusovsky, someone has just "understood" his words,
    taken out of context, in this way. The KDH sticks to the opinion,
    which has also been recommended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
    that Turkey should become a privileged partner of the EU.

    The KDH would not change its opinion even if it heard the Pope clearly
    say that Turkey should enter the EU. "Our political standpoint does
    not have to change along with the Holy Father's opinion. The Holy
    Father is representing the church, while I am representing a political
    party, and these opinions do not have to be identical at all times,"
    said Hrusovsky.

    Rafael Rafaj, chairman of the SNS deputies' club, said that Turkey
    had a serious deficit in democracy and European traditions, which
    is why it would be premature to speak about its entry. Rafaj thinks
    that "zero tolerance" should also apply to privileged partnership,
    because if the door is only slightly opened for someone, it will
    never be closed again.

    Prime Minister and Direction [Smer] leader Robert Fico supports EU
    enlargement by countries that are prepared for it. "For me, it is not
    decisive at all what religion a country is practising. Sometimes I
    have a feeling that this is currently a decisive topic that influences
    some countries' behaviour."

    Movement for a Democratic Slovakia [HZDS] deputy Zdenka Kramplova said
    that the set criteria were decisive for entry. However, she does not
    think that Turkey will meet these criteria sooner than in 20 years.

    Gyula Bardos, head of the Hungarian Coalition Party [SMK; MKP in
    Hungarian] deputies' club, also said that Turkey must first fulfil
    the EU criteria and religious belief should not play any role.

    Slovak Democratic and Christian Union [SDKU] Deputy Chairman Pavol
    Kubovic noted that his party supported the commencement of open-ended
    accession talks with Turkey and nothing has changed about this.

    Former Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said during the previous
    election period that if Turkey, as well as the countries of former
    Yugoslavia, were in the EU, Europe would be safer.

    A Eurobarometer survey of last year showed that 50 per cent respondents
    in Slovakia were against Turkey's entry into the EU. On the initiative
    of the KDH, Parliament adopted a resolution that the Ottoman Empire
    had committed genocide against Armenians.
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