82% of French people against Turkey accession to EU

[Trampas]

That's why Austria vetoed the opening of negotiations for accession, oh wait.

Austria stood alone and isolated on that issue and ultimately capitulated following a call from the US threatening "consequences". Remind you of anything ? From memory one of the Eurobarometer polls showed 89% of Austrians against Turkish accession with just 5% in favour.

[irish_bob]

we need to work towards restricting islamic immigration not increasng it

keep turkey out , id perfer let india in than turkey

[Trampas]

we need to work towards restricting islamic immigration not increasng it

keep turkey out , id perfer let india in than turkey

.......but India has more muslims than Turkey............although I take your point.

[Twin Towers]

Turkey's coming in. Might take 20 years.

20 years! There won't be anything to come into in 10 years never mind 20.

I'd give the EU democratic joke a few more years tottering to dissolution.

[McDave]

The EU will not be able to integrate such a large and culturally different country as Turkey. It may well be afforded special economic and military status, but IMO it will not be allowed to join certainly in this century, if ever.

The failure of Lisbon 1 has shown the Western continental states who founded the EEC that practically every cultural extension has imported huge, and almost insurmountable, stresses into the overall structure, especially the UK and the US-dependent eastern accession states. Having learned the political and economic lessons of the last 6 months, the drivers of European integration have all the information they need to confirm their instincts that Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey should never join. They will find whatever vector they need (French or Austrian veto, or whatever) to keep the door shut.

And this is how it should be. The EU is not the UN or the CSCE or whatever. It is a political and economic endeavour that requires a strong core. This core needs to be based on commonly held ethical values - which on this little part of the globe mainly happens to be Christianity (apologies to atheists and socialists).

[IrishTom]

That was after an intense public debate and loads of lies from the 'no' side. There has been no real discussion here of Turkey's membership of the EU. All in all, I don't think Irish people care that much - although I do admit that could change.

I think French opposition is down to racism and Islamopobia, plain and simple. To the average French person:
Turkey = Islam
Islam = angry young men of north African origin in grim apartment blocks in les banlieues.

i think it is arrogant on your behalf to call french people racist just for wanting to preserve there own culture.

islam is a religion that openly encourages sectarianism
and as a result turkish people naturaly will not fit into european culture in any way, just look at germany which has a high level of turkish living there, they dont integrate, they little regard for the rule of Law, and they hole themselves up in turkish ghettos and hardly ever integrate.

is this what we realy want in Ireland...?

we face enough challenges in the future as it is with the already too high proportion of immigrants, we simply can not sustain another mass influx, it would be the final nail in the coffin for Ireland.

[Trampas]

islam is a religion that openly encourages sectarianism
and as a result turkish people naturaly will not fit into european culture in any way, just look at germany which has a high level of turkish living there, they dont integrate, they little regard for the rule of Law, and they hole themselves up in turkish ghettos and hardly ever integrate.

On a visit to Germany last year Turkish PM Erdogan addressed a group of Turks telling them that it would be "a crime" were they to assimilate into German society. Turkish membership would be an absolute catastrophe for the EU. Even Giscard d'Estaing author of the Lisbon Treaty (nee EU Constitution) has declared that Turkish membership would be "the end of the European Union". Meanwhile on the emerald isle our elected reps go on their merry way. Not a single member of the Oireachtas has voiced the slightest opposition to Turkish membership.

[Fr. Dougal McGuire]

I'd say most EU members are against Turkeys membership.

I'm not sure that matters. The unelected elites have never listened to the people before, why should they now?

[Lloyd-Apjohn]

If Turkey wants to join the EU then why doesn't Turkey rise its standards to our level rather than us having to lower ours to theirs. Turkey can show it means business by implementing complete laws changes to meet our standards and also change its attitudes to human rights, press freedom, woman, minorities, freedom of religion, separation of Church and state as in France. Ditto for all the other tin pot corrupt former Commie countries who want to join. We let in Bulgaria and Romania years before they were ready and all that's happened is the corrupt elites has squandered most of the EU money meant to raise the living standards of honest people.

[Gadjodilo]

If Turkey wants to join the EU then why doesn't Turkey rise its standards to our level rather than us having to lower ours to theirs. Turkey can show it means business by implementing complete laws changes to meet our standards and also change its attitudes to human rights, press freedom, woman, minorities, freedom of religion, separation of Church and state as in France. Ditto for all the other tin pot corrupt former Commie countries who want to join. We let in Bulgaria and Romania years before they were ready and all that's happened is the corrupt elites has squandered most of the EU money meant to raise the living standards of honest people.

Of course Turkey will have to adhere to wider EU standards. There's no suggestion that they'll be allowed to join without fulfilling all the chapters.

As regards separation of church and state, you'd be hard put to find a more secular state than Turkey. It's hilarious to see an Irish person lecturing the Turks on this issue.