The French parliament has held a heated debate on whether Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union. As reported by www.euronews.net, in the course of the discussion Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told Parliament Turkey is still a long way from Europe in terms of social, economic and political policy. He stressed neither the EU nor Ankara was ready for Turkish membership. However, as noted by the source, the French government decided before the debate there would be no vote by MPs knowing Turkish membership would be rejected right now. Nevertheless, the Socialists are behind Turkish membership claiming it will benefit everyone in the long run. It should be noted that there are splits on Turkey’s eventual membership of the EU even within the Turkish community that lives in France. As a Turkish restaurant owner in Paris says for EU membership a more equal, more democratic open society is needed: Turkey needs to become a country of human rights.
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