France’s position on Turkey joining the European Union – Reply given by Bruno Le Maire, Minister of State responsible for European Affairs, to a question in the National Assembly
Paris, 8 April 2009
Everyone is free to be for or against Turkey’s entry into the European Union. But what is neither acceptable nor responsible is to misrepresent France’s official position on this important issue of direct interest to Europeans and the French. This position is clear. It was reiterated by the Prime Minister yesterday, and by President Sarkozy: France is not in favour of Turkey joining the European Union.
The reason is not Turkey herself, a great friendly country with which we maintain very rich cultural, political and economic relations, and the guarantor of stability and peace in the Middle East, but the way we see the European Union, which has to affirm its political identity in order to exert influence in tomorrow’s world.
To all those in favour of Turkey’s entry into the European Union, I want to say in a very friendly way, but very firmly, that Europe’s future is decided in Europe and by Europeans. I also want to tell them that, after ten years marked by the European Union’s continuous enlargement which has allowed us to restore Europe’s historical unity, our priority is to strengthen the European institutions, frame a common economic policy and increase Europe’s weight in the world so as to guarantee 500 million fellow European citizens the peace, prosperity and security they yearn for. Thank you./.