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Todays Zaman:

The French Embassy in Ankara has denied news reports suggesting that President Nicolas Sarkozy's vocal opposition to Turkey's accession to the European Union was linked to religion.

The embassy said in a statement that remarks attributed to Sarkozy were "completely baseless" and explained that the French leader insisted that Europe should have borders.

The Turkish daily Milliyet, citing remarks from Sarkozy published on Wednesday in the Polish newspaper Dziennik, said the French leader had finally revealed the main reason for his opposition to Turkey's membership in the EU by saying that he did not consider a Muslim country as European.

On Wednesday the Reuters news agency had also said Sarkozy made clear in his remarks in the Polish newspaper that he "did not see a country that is predominantly Muslim but was founded as a secular state as European." The agency filed a corrected version of the report on Thursday to clarify that Sarkozy's opposition was not linked to religion.

The embassy said Sarkozy had been asked where Europe's borders end and what countries can and cannot join the 27-nation bloc in the future. Sarkozy had said in response that his position on Turkey's membership is known very well and that this stance has not changed. He said Europe must have borders and should not expand indefinitely and referred to the work of a "wise men's council" on where these borders must end. "For me it is crucial that the EU doesn't become an entity without unity, will and social support," he said.

Yesterday the French parliament debated a constitutional reform proposal that calls for referendums on the accession of countries whose population exceeds 5 percent of the EU's population. Turkey and Ukraine are the only candidates to fit this definition.

Turkey says it categorically rejects any form of association with the EU other than full membership and it has urged the EU in clear terms not to water down its membership commitments. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned this week that otherwise the reform enthusiasm in Turkey would wane.

Ankara also hesitates to join the "Mediterranean Union" proposed by Sarkozy because of its concerns over whether the planned union could emerge as an alternative to Turkey's EU membership. French weekly L'Express said in its latest issue that Turkey's refusal to confirm whether it will join the union is worrying Paris because the absence of such a key Mediterranean country would undermine the project.

Babacan said this week that Turkey has not yet decided whether to join the Mediterranean Union, due to be launched at a summit on July 13 in Paris. Ankara has also not confirmed yet whether Turkish officials will attend the summit.

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