Hurriyet- Sedat Ergin, one of columnist of the Hurriyet daily said in his article under the heading of ''Unpleasant Development in French Front'', that ''the package of constitutional amendment, which was approved by President Jacques Chirac after being voted by the French parliament, pointed out an unpleasant development in regard to the future of Turkey-EU relations''.
Describing the decision as ''the biggest negative development since EU's granting Turkey candidate status in its Helsinki Summit in 1999'', Ergin said, ''accordingly, public opinion's approval will be required for the adhesion of any new candidate to the EU after 2007. The decision says that countries, which started entry negotiations with the EU before July 1st, 2004, will be exempted from referendum process. It means that Croatia will be excluded from the new procedure. It is evident that this article of the constitutional amendment directly targets Turkey .''
''Can the EU and France overcome consequences of such a decision in 2015? Another problem is that referendum in France will swing over Turkey like the 'sword of Damocles' till the very last moment. It will poison all membership negotiations psychologically, and discourage Turkey by justifying the question whether it is worth of taking such a risk. French decision-makers have given an influential weapon to the hands of anti-EU circles in Turkey. The condition of referendum will also lead to an important increase in demands of French public opinion and politicians from Turkey. Official recognition of allegations of the so-called genocide is among these demands. Consequently, France may fatigue Turkey in its EU membership process,'' Ergin added.