EU/TURKEY: Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the founding father of the European Union's constitution, called on the EU yesterday to offer Turkey a privileged partnership arrangement rather than full membership.
Mr Giscard, a former president of France and a widely respected elder statesman, added his weight to calls for the EU to create an alternative to membership of the 25-member bloc when its leaders decide on opening entry talks with Ankara next month.
"Turkey's accession, whenever it is, would change the nature of the European project," Mr Giscard wrote in an article published by Le Figaro.
"It is a fact: the European constitution . . . was not conceived for taking in a power of Turkey's size," he said.
Mr Giscard has long opposed Turkey joining the Union.
But his comments are seen as particularly sensitive because France, where public opposition to Turkey's membership is strong, has raised the idea of Ankara being offered an alternative to full membership.