Europe Is No Place for Turkey, Official Declares

The elder statesman drafting a constitution for the EU sparked a furor Friday by saying Turkey was not a European country and its entry would be “the end of the European Union.”

Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, 76, head of the Convention on the Future of Europe, told the newspaper Le Monde that those who backed Turkey’s candidacy were “the adversaries of the European Union.”

His outspoken comments caused uproar and embarrassment in Brussels and outraged Turkish representatives in the convention. One European Parliament member, Swedish Socialist Jan Andersson, called for Giscard’s resignation.

The European Commission was quick to distance itself from the comments, which heightened controversy within the 15-nation bloc over the EU’s eventual borders once it concludes talks with 10 mainly Eastern European candidates next month.

Alluding to Turkey’s Muslim population and high birthrate, Giscard said that the country had “a different culture, a different approach, a different way of life” and that its demographic dynamism would potentially make it the biggest EU member state.

“Its capital is not in Europe; 95% of its population live outside Europe; it is not a European country,” he said.

Admitting Turkey, an official candidate since 1999, would go “outside the continent” and prompt demands to admit other Middle Eastern and North African states, starting with Morocco, he said. Asked what the effect would be, he said: “In my opinion, it would be the end of the European Union.”

Ali Tekin, Turkish parliamentary representative in the 105-member convention, said Giscard is “a Christian fundamentalist.” But the head of the party set to form Turkey’s next government, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, played down the comments as “nothing more than emotion.”