By Brian Johnson - 20th July 2004
Jan Peter Balkenende has warned Europe’s leaders that a decision on Turkey's EU membership should not be based on fear of Islam.
Presenting the Netherlands EU presidency's political priorities for the next six months, the Dutch prime minister said that “the decision must be arrived at honestly…without inventing any new criteria”.
“Raising barriers to any particular religion does not fit in with Europe’s shared values”, told Balkenende told MEPs.
“Islam is not the problem. The problem is not religion but the misuse of religion to sow hatred and intolerance.”
Acknowledging that Islam’s current negative image may be obscuring an objective assessment of Turkish entry, Balkenende emphasised that the decision should not be guided by an unfounded Islamophobia.
Frank and open debate
His comments were reiterated by the European Parliament’s socialist group leader, Martin Schulz who argued that Europe could not go back on promises made to Ankara in 1999.
“We have to be fair towards Turkey”, he said
Liberal group leader, Graham Watson welcomed the Dutch emphasis, saying: “We need a debate on Turkey, let’s have it openly and frankly.”
Brussels chief Romano Prodi confirmed that the commission report on Turkey’s compliance with the ‘Copenhagen’ political criteria was on target to be presented in early October.
The outgoing European Commission president assured MEPs that the report would be “truly exhaustive and absolutely objective.”
“Total impartiality is what we owe our young people, our fellow citizens and the Turkish people who hope to join us”, he said.
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