Tricks Of the Trade

In an article dated December 18, Yves Daoudal discusses the new negotiations with Turkey:

The European Union and Turkey are going to open two new topics in the negotiations on EU membership: "trans-European networks" and "health and protection of consumers."

The decision to open these new chapters was made, we are told, thanks to the creation on Friday at the Lisbon summit meeting, of a "special committee" on the future of Europe which Nicolas Sarkozy had insisted upon before giving his approval to the resumption of talks.

It is known that Nicolas Sarkozy had insisted on the creation of a "group of wise men" who would reflect on the expansion of the European Union and the issue of EU borders. In this way, talks with Turkey could proceed while the wise men were reaching the conclusion that Turkey was outside of Europe's borders...

The group of wise men was nothing but a lure to make people believe that Turkey was not eligible, when in fact the negotiations were moving ineluctably toward membership.

But the lure is even more artificial than first thought. The pro-Turkey partners of France wanted nothing to do with a group of wise men whose mission was what Sarkozy wanted it to be. And so this committee will talk about everything EXCEPT the expansion of borders. The Czech minister of European Affairs explained in no uncertain terms: "We had many reservations about the original plan, we were afraid it would be a way to stop the expansion process. That is why we concentrated on issues not related to expansion."

At the final press conference of the summit, the Portuguese president hardly mentioned the creation of this group. The Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt explained that in fact this was all a trick to fool the French and to try to reduce opposition to Turkey's membership: "This special committee is being used to grease the French political decision-making process," he said.

The little dog barks, the caravan passes.