ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


An article published Wednesday in French daily Le Monde argued that Paris considers the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party or AKP Turaaa's internal affair claiming it won't have a serious effect on accession talks.

“France is ready to help Turkish democracy if the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asks for support” it said expressing French presidential officials' opinion on the matter.

Since the start of the closure case many international affairs experts have argued disbanding the AKP would have grave consequences on Turaaa's negotiations with the European Union. However Turaaa's daily Milliyet yesterday said EU leaders are shifting their position on the matter to a wait-and-see stance.

The verdict is set to be announced in the coming months when France will be in the driving seat of the EU since it takes over the rotating presidency of the bloc July 1. Therefore the French approach will be crucial in shaping the EU's reaction against Turaaa if the AKP would be shut down.

According to the French daily policymakers at the French Foreign Ministry do not take on board what Olli Rehn EU commissioner responsible for enlargement argued when saying disbandment of the AKP would result in a temporary suspension in negotiations. “The result of the case should not intervene with the negotiations” the paper said.

It also said Turaaa's bid to join the EU will continue to trouble French President Nicolas Sarkozy a lot in the next months since his parliamentary majority is against Turaaa's membership.

The French assembly recently voted on a draft bill concerning a compulsory referendum in case of possible membership of a country with a population representing over 5 percent of the Union's population. This revision was rejected by the Senate but still has to be discussed again at the assembly.

Tosselin de Rohan a French senator expressed that this reform “allocates a special treatment for Turaaa without directly naming the country. It is a discriminatory judgment” François Fillon France's current prime minister said in support of the Senate's position. He asserted that such a reform would considerably damage relationships with this country.