FRANCE/TURKEY: The French foreign minister, Mr Michel Barnier, has backed a call for a referendum in France on Turkey's membership of the European Union, but emphasised that such a poll is unlikely to take place for many years.
Mr Barnier said that, even if Turkey starts membership negotiations with the EU next year, it is unlikely to join for at least 15 years. "When it comes to a decision that is so important, it should be subject to a referendum. It is a question for later, since these accession negotiations will take years."
He added that "a decision as important as Turkey's accession into Europe could be taken only after a referendum is held".
The European Commission will report next week on Turkey's readiness to start membership talks and is expected to recommend an early start to such negotiations.
The Turkish parliament has approved a sweeping reform of the country's penal code, resolving a dispute with Brussels that threatened to derail Ankara's membership ambitions.
The French finance minister, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, already called for a referendum in France before Turkey is admitted.
German conservatives have criticised the Enlargement Commissioner, Mr Günter Verheugen, for supporting Turkey's request to start accession talks. The former Christian Democrat leader, Mr Wolfgang Schäuble, told Welt am Sonntag that full Turkish membership could wreck the EU. "We must convince the inhabitants of Europe that they can entrust their destiny to the EU, otherwise the EU will fail as a union. But how can we convince the people when Turkey shapes, for example, our policy in central Asia?"
Turkey needs to improve its human rights record: page 16