FRANCE: Two days before the enlargement of the European Union, President Jacques Chirac yesterday attempted to reassure the French public by explaining what he called "my vision of Europe", at his first press conference on the subject in six years.
But Mr Chirac failed to provide clear answers to the two European issues that have stirred debate here: the holding of a referendum on the Constitution which is scheduled to be completed at the June 17th to 18th European Council, and the admission of Turkey to the Union.
Since the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, announced that Britain would hold a referendum on the Constitution, Mr Chirac has come under intense pressure to do the same. Virtually the entire French political class, left and right, pro and anti-European, have called for a referendum.
But the right lost last month's regional elections and is expected to perform badly in the European parliamentary poll six weeks from now. Mr Chirac reportedly fears that a referendum could turn into a plebiscite on his presidency.
So he stalled for time yesterday. It was "premature" for him to choose between a vote by the French National Assembly and Senate, and a referendum to ratify the future Constitution, he said. The EU constitutional treaty would first have to be signed. Then the Constitutional Council would have to verify that it does not conflict with the French constitution. "I'm determined not to rush things," Mr Chirac said.
Nor is he in any hurry to give Turkey a quick response to its 41 year-old quest for EU membership. Mr Chirac has always claimed to favour Turkey's application, but his own UMP party is against it. Opinion polls show that 70 per cent of the French public oppose Turkish membership.
Earlier this month, Mr Alain Juppé, president of the UMP, said the admission of Turkey could "distort the character" of the EU. The maverick centre-right politician Mr Francois Bayrou says it is "two-faced" for the UMP to say "no" to Turkey while the government continues to say "yes".
Mr Chirac scarcely clarified the situation by asserting yesterday that, while Turkey's entry was "desirable", it was "impossible under the present conditions". In the long term, he argued, "It is in our interest that Turkey be stable, modern, and democratic."
For Europe to reject Turkey "for ethnic or religious reasons could only play into the hands of those who advocate the clash of civilisations, who try to pit the West against Islam".
Yet Turkey does not yet fulfil democratic, human rights and economic criteria for EU membership, Mr Chirac added.
Even if an EU Council in the autumn recommends that negotiations begin, "the negotiations will be long", he predicted. "Experience shows they take 10 years, perhaps more."
During that period, Turkey would be kept under constant surveillance and each member-state would have to ratify its admission. "We're looking at 10 to 15 years," Mr Chirac concluded.
Asked what he thought of Mr Blair's decision to hold a referendum on the Constitution, Mr Chirac said that Britain's history and approach to Europe meant the two countries' positions were not comparable.
If the British voted "no", Mr Chirac said, "I cannot imagine that England could find itself in a situation where it had to leave Europe."
At least seven EU countries are already committed to holding referenda on the Constitution. In theory, Mr Chirac said, if even one rejects the treaty, the EU would revert to arrangements under the Nice Treaty "which is satisfactory for no one".
Mr Chirac approved of a German idea whereby the Council "could consider that after a certain amount of time, for example two years, either a country ratifies the treaty or it would have to leave (the EU)".
In preliminary remarks, Mr Chirac repeatedly said he wanted a powerful Europe. He rejected the idea that an enlarged Europe will be little more than a vast free-trade zone.
"Europe is above all about shared values and principles ... It is the Europe of men, more than the Europe of markets," he said.