"Turkey: only full membership
Written by Brussels journalist David Ferguson
Tuesday, 12 July 2005
'This long awaited decision to start negotiations confirmed the desire of both sides to forward our relationship towards full membership. I emphasize 'full membership' as no document signed between Turkey and the EU nor any other EU decision envisages any other option,' said Ali Babacan, Turkish Chief EU Negotiator.
'Nor does Turkey's desire to enter into any other relationship that cannot be described as full membership,' said Babacan. He was responding to growing voices in the EU calling for expansion to stop at the gates of Istanbul. Right-of-centre politicians, especially from Germany's CDU-CSU party are pushing for a 'special relationship' with Ankara that stops far short of full membership. They include CDU boss Angela Merkel, who is ever more likely to be Germany's future Chancellor."
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