"Turkey's EU dream dealt double blow as Chirac and Merkel raise doubts
Luke Harding in Berlin and Nicholas Watt in Brussels
Saturday August 27, 2005
The Guardian
Turkey's 40-year dream of joining the European family suffered a double blow yesterday when Jacques Chirac and Angela Merkel, Germany's conservative leader, raised serious doubts about forthcoming talks on EU membership.
In his most significant intervention of the year on Turkey, the French president accused Ankara of failing to act 'in the spirit' of a country hoping to join the EU.
Mr Chirac singled out Turkey's conduct last month when it signed a customs agreement with all EU countries - the last obstacle ahead of membership talks - but insisted that it would still refuse to recognise Cyprus."
More:Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Turkey's EU dream dealt double blow as Chirac and Merkel raise doubts
