Instead of offering Turkey full membership of the bloc, Sarkozy said in the Cicero article that Turkey should enter into a privileged partnership arrangement with the EU.
Not admitting Turkey to the EU should not push it away from Europe, he said.
Instead, Turkey should be part of a union between other Mediterranean countries, said Sarkozy.
The Cicero article came on the same day as the French newspaper Le Figaro quoted Sarkozy as saying he did not favour halting the EU’s talks with Turkey so as to not influence Turkey’s forthcoming general elections and affect Turkish domestic policy.
The Le Figaro article said that Sarkozy has dispatched a special envoy, France’s former ambassador tot he US Jean David Levitte, to Turkey two days ago to try and improve relations with Ankara and to prevent any disruption to Turkish-French ties or a split over Turkey in the EU.
