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TURKEY: Austria Pours Cold Water on Turkish Entry Hopes
Top Austrian officials say Turkey far from ready for EU
2005-06-13 18:25:04
Two top Austrian officials cast grave doubts yesterday on Turkey’s drive to join the EU, saying the mostly Muslim country simply isn’t ready — and might not be for another two decades. “I don’t consider Turkey ripe for entry,” Finance Minister Karl-Heintz Grasser told Austrian television. Bringing in the Turks, he added, “would make excessive demands of Europe.”
If European voters were to be asked in referendums whether to admit Turkey, just as some have been asked to pass judgment on the EU’s proposed new constitution, the answer would be a resounding “no,” Grasser said.
“I am against negotiations for the accession of Turkey,” he said during a round-table discussion with journalists on state broadcaster ORF’s weekly “Media Hour” program.
In an interview with the weekly news magazine Profil, Andreas Khol — president of the Austrian Parliament and a high-ranking member of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel’s conservative Austrian People’s Party — said he can’t envision the Turks joining before 2025.
“The question of their entry won’t arise in the next 15 or 20 years,” Khol said, contending the recent French and Dutch rejection of the proposed EU Constitution reflected deep-seated unease over Turkey’s drive to join. Grasser was more blunt, calling the referendum results in France and the Netherlands “a warning shot.” He called yesterday for a Europe-wide referendum on Turkey’s accession.
By William J. Kole
Source: The Associated Press
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Top Austrian officials say Turkey far from ready for EU
2005-06-13 18:25:04
Two top Austrian officials cast grave doubts yesterday on Turkey’s drive to join the EU, saying the mostly Muslim country simply isn’t ready — and might not be for another two decades. “I don’t consider Turkey ripe for entry,” Finance Minister Karl-Heintz Grasser told Austrian television. Bringing in the Turks, he added, “would make excessive demands of Europe.”
If European voters were to be asked in referendums whether to admit Turkey, just as some have been asked to pass judgment on the EU’s proposed new constitution, the answer would be a resounding “no,” Grasser said.
“I am against negotiations for the accession of Turkey,” he said during a round-table discussion with journalists on state broadcaster ORF’s weekly “Media Hour” program.
In an interview with the weekly news magazine Profil, Andreas Khol — president of the Austrian Parliament and a high-ranking member of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel’s conservative Austrian People’s Party — said he can’t envision the Turks joining before 2025.
“The question of their entry won’t arise in the next 15 or 20 years,” Khol said, contending the recent French and Dutch rejection of the proposed EU Constitution reflected deep-seated unease over Turkey’s drive to join. Grasser was more blunt, calling the referendum results in France and the Netherlands “a warning shot.” He called yesterday for a Europe-wide referendum on Turkey’s accession.
By William J. Kole
Source: The Associated Press
Link