Turkey entry 'would destroy EU'

Turkey "is not a European country" says Giscard

The man shaping the future constitution of the European Union was quoted on Friday as saying Turkey's entry into the EU would be "the end of Europe".

Its capital is not in Europe, 95% of its population live outside Europe, it is not a European country

Valery Giscard d'Estaing

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing told Le Monde newspaper that people who backed Turkey's accession were "the adversaries of the European Union".

But the Turkish foreign ministry hit back, saying that Turkey was unquestionably part of Europe, and describing Mr Giscard d'Estaing's "personal views" as regrettable.

Mr Giscard d'Estaing told Le Monde that Turkey's capital was not in Europe, 95% of its population lived outside Europe, and it was "not a European country".

Asked what the effect of including Turkey in a future wave of European enlargement would be, he said: "In my opinion, it would be the end of Europe."

He proposed instead a co-operation pact similar to the one presented to Ukraine.

Correspondents say there is continuing debate among member countries about whether Turkey is culturally and geographically compatible with the European Union - and that a broad strand of opinion that says it is not.

Ping-pong match

To say such a thing about such a country that is a member of such bodies, is nothing more than emotion

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The BBC's Turkey correspondent, Jonny Dymond, says Mr Giscard d'Estaing's comments come at a bad time for Turkey, just as it felt it was making progress towards getting the EU to set a date for accession talks to begin.

However, the leader of Turkey's victorious AK Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, played down their importance.

"Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe, an OECD member and a Nato member," he said.

"To say such a thing about such a country that is a member of such bodies, is nothing more than emotion."

Brussels was also quick to reject the idea that Turkish membership would spell disaster for Europe.

"I don't have any intention of getting into a ping-pong match with Mr Giscard d'Estaing," a spokesman for the EU's executive European Commission, Jean-Christophe Filori, said in Brussels.

But he added: "So is the entry of Turkey in the European Union the end of the European Union? The answer is no."

Christian club

The debate within the EU about Turkey has intensified following Sunday's victory of the AK Party, which has roots in the banned Islamist Virtue Party.

Mr Erdogan says the party is a modern conservative, secular party, and has made clear that the new government's top priority will be to move forward the country's bid to join the EU.

Correspondents say Turkey knows it has to fight against those in Europe who are inclined to regard the EU as a Christian club.

Mr Erdogan is to make his first post-election visit to Greece on 18 November. He and his hosts are both expected to call for the EU to set a date for the start of accession talks at the Copenhagen summit in mid-December.

The proposal has strong backing from the US.

However, EU leaders said at their Brussels summit last month that Turkey had not yet made sufficient progress with political and human rights reforms for membership talks to begin.