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Turkey Sees 'Beginning Of Change' In French Stance On Eu Bid

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  • Turkey Sees 'Beginning Of Change' In French Stance On Eu Bid

    TURKEY SEES 'BEGINNING OF CHANGE' IN FRENCH STANCE ON EU BID

    Agence France Presse
    February 19, 2013 Tuesday 11:04 PM GMT

    Turkey is seeing the "beginning of change" in France's once hostile
    attitude towards its decades-long struggle to join the European
    Union under new President Francois Hollande, the country's EU affairs
    minister told AFP.

    "It doesn't make sense to block Turkey's process," Egemen Bagis said
    in an interview before starting a visit to France on Tuesday. "We
    have positive expectations from the Hollande government."

    Turkey's efforts to join the 27-member bloc have stalled in recent
    years, largely because of the long-running dispute with Cyprus and
    fierce opposition from other EU member states including France.

    Stumbling blocks include Turkey's human rights record, its large Muslim
    population and the eurozone debt crisis, which tested confidence in
    the bloc's own future.

    Turkey, an associate member of the old European Economic Community
    since 1963, first sought to become an EU member in 1987 but did not
    launch formal accession talks until 2005.

    Of the 35 so-called policy chapters EU candidates must negotiate,
    Turkey has opened talks on only 13 and France has vetoed negotiations
    on five.

    But in a sign of an apparent change of heart under Hollande, Paris
    said this month it would unblock talks with Turkey on the chapter
    regarding regional aid.

    Turkey and France have enjoyed close ties since the Ottoman Empire,
    but relations cooled after right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy became
    president in 2007 and raised objections to Turkey's EU aspirations.

    "Unfortunately, the attitude of Mr Sarkozy was illogical ... but
    I'm glad that the French people chose to send him fishing instead
    of ruling the country, because it should take common sense to run
    a country," said Bagis, who is also Turkey's chief negotiator and a
    senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

    Ties between the NATO allies hit an all-time low after French
    legislators passed a bill in 2011 making it a crime to deny that
    the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I
    constituted genocide.

    Although the legislation was later declared invalid by France's
    constitutional court, it severely damaged business ties.

    "People in this country stopped consuming Danone yoghurts just because
    the name was French," Bagis said.

    Turkish companies were reluctant to get involved in joint ventures
    because they felt that "being partners with a French company would
    be a liability rather than an asset for them and they chose not to
    become partners," he added.

    The public appetite for EU membership is waning among frustrated
    Turks, but Bagis said he was confident the European Union could easily
    reverse that sentiment.

    "All Europe has to do is give Turkey an exact date for membership
    and say if Turkey completes all the necessities, Turkey will become
    a full member as of x date, then we would get the public support back
    behind this process overnight," he said.

    Bagis said that despite its financial woes, the EU was still attractive
    for Turkey -- which has transformed its economy after a devastating
    meltdown in 2001, with record growth rates exceeding 8.0 percent in
    2010 and 2011.

    "Turkey is determined to join this club, but when we join the club,
    we will also help this club put itself in shape," he said.

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