Malta gives conditional backing for Turkish EU membership

D Phillips

Feb 13th 2010, 19:36

@T Camilleri
No, Camilleri. Many would argue that Cyprus (and even Malta for some) have as much or as little of a right to be included, geographically, in Europe as Turkey. Your point of argument is a simplistic one. Fortunately not many countries, both from a political standpoint and of general public opinion, harbour such a deep rooted dislike of different cultures, most indeed welcome multi-culturalism and will, dependant on the normal criteria being met, welcome Turkey into the EU. Those who oppose it on the basis of a small minded mentality, or indeed ignorance/bigotry/racism, thankfully will always be considered to be a lunatic fringe.

D Phillips

Feb 13th 2010, 19:17

@Igalea,
Why, if all you can spout is anti EU sentiment and are adamant that Malta should withdraw from the EU, does it bother you which countries gain membership? Although I’m sure you would like to, you cannot have it both ways.

lgalea

Feb 13th 2010, 09:40

Charles J. Buttigieg, Charles Sammut
Very good observations

T Camilleri

Feb 13th 2010, 09:39

Alfred Farrugia Because Turkey has military bases that were and are used by NATO and the USA to bomb Iraq and have been used during the cold war to spy on the USSR.

D Phillips No Phillips. There has to be a stop somewhere. Only a tiny part of Turkey is in Europe. Or shall it then be extended to include also Israel as proposed by Berlusconi?

simon.saliba

Feb 12th 2010, 21:15

A great number of USA nuclear war heads are stored in Turkey. This fact alone makes Turkey membership essential for both NATO and Europe ‘s survival. So Turkey is there among EU members, its just a matter of time no matter what Europeans says. This is the way politics is done in the ‘democratic’ EU! People tend to forget that almost six million Turks already live and mostly vote in EU member countries… That's more than the total population of many EU member countries!

The Great Siege took place in 1565, an dark era when people still bound to the book of ignorance. They thought that the earth was flat, that snakes came from roosters' eggs, Galilleo was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for suggesting that the earth rotates around the sun and the American continent had just been discovered by Europeans.

@ E Gatt – We are in 2010 not living in 1565 anymore

D Phillips

Feb 12th 2010, 21:07

Joseph Schembri,
i think you'll find Turkeys political system is no more or no less democratic than this little islands. Your generalisations lack basic intelligent thought, try to stop living in the past.

Joseph (Joe) Grima

Feb 12th 2010, 21:05

Dr Gonzi is a well know servant of Turksh membership. This erstwhile Christian Democrat is not concerned that Turkey is the aggressive invader of Cyprus and that the EU is committed to solving the Cyprus problem before allowing Turkey in, if that will ever happen. Dr Gonzi doesn't care that 75 million muslims will become members of the EU, imbalancing the religions within the EU by a huge margin towards Islam, with all the afte-effects that that may bring with it, least of which could not be Sharia Law. . The important thing is not what he dosn't know or what he doesn't care about., The important thing is what we know and what we care about, and what we know is this. It will take another 20years before Turkey will ever be able to consider itself close enough to the EU to be able to draw a sigh of relief We also know that if some EU member States willl have their way, Turkey will still be waiting to enter a century from today. Best of all we know that 3 years from now, Dr Gonzi will be a has-been PM. So who cares about his Turkeytalk today? .

oliver mallia

Feb 12th 2010, 20:31

Why not the Minister Cemil Cicek give us further details about Famagusta ghost town in Cyprus? This clip says every think http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1eXJDB93uI I have friends from Cyprus that have their property in the Turkish hands

joseph cachia

Feb 12th 2010, 20:28

Dr Borg must be halluciniating in his dreams. Trade i.e. We import from but not export to Turkey. Investment that is NOT POSSIBLE either way. (come over to Izmir for a month among traders and farmers) Invading MALTA by Turks from all ways of life for some years till they find themselves in Holland or Germany ? YES YES YES. Dr Borg and the PM are acting as MOUTH PIECE for america, who wants Turkey 'IN' to dictate their foreign policy and surround the non EU middle east countries with WMD

simon.saliba

Feb 12th 2010, 20:16

Times of Malta 8 February 2010 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100208/opinion/turkey-to-the-eus-rescue Quote: ‘In a highly complex and diverse world, the EU stands out for its homogeneity. While the EU flatters itself on diversity, it is in fact one of the least diverse regions of the world. There is more ethnic diversity in, say, Malaysia than in the entire EU’ Thus Turkey’s membership is a test for what the secular EU values stands for. Same as the immigrants (legal and illegal) are also a severe test for the secular EU’ human right’ values. On 16 October 2009 it was reported in the Times of Malta that a total 41.3 percent of net inflows of FDI for the first six months of this year originated from EU member states and a further 41.8 percent came from Asia. During the same period in 2008, the EU27 contributed 44 percent of FDI inflows while 30.3 per cent originated from Turkey. Well, with 30.3 per cent of Malta’s FDI originated from Turkey I should give my full support to Turkey’s membership.

A. E. Abela

Feb 12th 2010, 19:08

Do the Turkish Kurds qualify for 'human rights'? If they do, than the E.U. membership for Turkey should be a very long, lost dream but than again the Turks have the backing of the USA, so that will give a much different perspective to what is human and what is right.

Charles Sammut

Feb 12th 2010, 18:47

The EU should also consider Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. These are also secular muslim states and It would encourage them to respect human rights more and defuse tension in the region. And why not Egypt as well, that would solve the problem of illegal Egyptian immigrants. They would automatically become legal then. Tunisia is as close to Europe as we are, they are also a secular state and speak French.

Finally, if Israel were included as well, it would solve the occupation problem because they would join the Schengen group and tear down the wall and open their borders. One big happy diverse family. Yes we can!

The EU is just about empire building, the European Soviet Union of Socialist Republics. And the only way to go about it is to destroy national identities, especially Western European identity.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Feb 12th 2010, 18:32

@ E Gatt
“.............He joins a growing list of European leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI (as cardinal), President Sarkosy and Chancellor Angela Merkel, who want a close partnership with Turkey which stops short of EU membership.” Do you recall the PN laughing at Dr.Sant’s suggestion for ‘Partnership’?

Joseph Schembri

Feb 12th 2010, 18:31

I concur with the minister: "Malta adopts the Commission's view that there should be zero tolerance on issues of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, not only with regard to the legislative framework and its application but also with regard to the actual realities ON THE GROUND,"

Turkey is a Moslem country. There is not one Moslem country in the world where democracy as we understand it exists.

I find it poignant that we are now befriending the country because of which our own fortified and military Capital was built.

Albert Scerri

Feb 12th 2010, 18:27

@M.Cassar You are as we say in Maltese 'mixing the lettuce with the wind'

Albert Scerri

Feb 12th 2010, 18:22

@E.Gatt "The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey." Not much values left, is there ? As far as I know, no mention of said values are mentioned in the Lisbon treaty. @M.Cassar You are as we say in Maltese '

Jesmond Micallef

Feb 12th 2010, 18:11

May I quote : "Dr Borg said membership of the EU by Turkey would strengthen the Mediterranean dimension within the EU." I agree and do feel positive about this prospect. I have spoken to some, but not many, Turkish people living in Germany and asked what do they think about this. I have been told that the standard of living in Germany will not be as good in the forthcoming future, as that in Turkey. A negative off course. I do not agree to it. Germany is still under "construction", the former East Germany still needs more impetus in its "development". No miracle financial packages or guest workers re-constructed that part of Germany after WW2 !!! With my very best wishes to Malta, Turkey and the EU.

D Phillips

Feb 12th 2010, 17:29

Any application by Turkey to join the EU, should be discussed and decided upon following the same conditions /criteria that any other current or hopeful EU member had/has to adhere to. Using the geographical location as a barrier to membership is a non-starter or Cyprus would never have been granted membership, using population size is also a fairly lame argument pr Germany would never have arrived. As for a referendum? Turkeys desire to join the EU should be welcomed dependant on its ability to satisfy the usual criteria.

Martin Cassar

Feb 12th 2010, 17:23

@ Alfred Farrugia Does the occupation by Turkey of the northern part of Cyprus – an EU member - meet the EU criteria for membership? What if Turkey were occupying Gozo? Borders disputes and wars or conflicts don’t seems to be of a barrier for EU membership. What about United Kingdom and Ireland?

E Gatt

Feb 12th 2010, 16:51

In my opinion, it would be a mistake to admit Turkey as a member of the European Union. Turkey has an estimated population of 75,000,000. Many European leaders have boldly stated that Turkey should not become a member of the EU. The citizens of Europe should be allowed to decide Turkey’s membership through a referendum. President Van Rompuy is a strong opponent of Turkey joining the European Union. In 2004, he stated "Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe. An expansion of the EU to include Turkey cannot be considered as just another expansion as in the past". He continued "The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey." (source: Wikipedia). He joins a growing list of European leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI (as cardinal), President Sarkosy and Chancellor Angela Merkel, who want a close partnership with Turkey which stops short of EU membership.

Alfred Farrugia

Feb 12th 2010, 16:42

Does the occupation by Turkey of the northern part of Cyprus – an EU member - meet the EU criteria for membership? What if Turkey were occupying Gozo? Should the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the northern part of Cyprus not be a condition for Turkish membership in the EU? Why does not Malta propose that an OSCE Cyprus Verification Mission – similar to the one deployed in Kosovo in 1998 – be sent to Cyprus and supplement the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) to relieve Turkey from the task of looking after the security of the Turkish Cypriots? Why should Turkey be treated differently from Iraq when the latter invaded Kuwait? Why cannot the international community put pressure on Turkey in the same way that pressure was put on Syria to leave Lebanon alone? Do we have double standards in the international community? I am in favour of Turkey joining the EU if and when there are no more Turkish troops in Cyprus, even though only a part of Istanbul is geographically a part of Europe.