Turkey entry 'would destroy EU'
BBC
The man shaping the future constitution of the European Union was quoted on Friday as saying Turkey's entry into the EU would be "the end of Europe".
Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing told Le Monde newspaper that people who backed Turkey's accession were "the adversaries of the European Union".
"Its capital is not in Europe, 95% of its population live outside Europe, it is not a European country," he said.
Asked what the effect of including Turkey in a future wave of European enlargement would be, he said: "In my opinion, it would be the end of Europe."
US backing.
Mr Giscard d'Estaing is the head of the Convention on the future of Europe, which published a draft constitution 10 days ago.
Turkey was officially recognised as a candidate for EU membership in 1999.
Ankara is currently pressing for EU heads of state to set a date to begin accession talks in December.
It has strong backing from the US and from Greece, which takes over the EU's rotating presidency in January.
At their summit in Brussels last month, EU leaders declined to set a date for accession talks, saying Turkey had not met the political and human rights criteria for membership.
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Associated Press: An anonymous comment from a European diplomat, bemused by the undying American enthusiasm for Turkey's candidacy:
"The Americans just don't understand the complexities of EU membership… admitting Turkey now would be like Mexico becoming the 51st state of the US overnight."
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And again the US is on the wrong side everywhere...
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