BRUSSELS: Turkey will close the door on joining the European Union if it adopts constitutional changes backed at a referendum last week, a leading member of the EU parliament responsible for dealings with Ankara said on Wednesday.
Kati Piri’s comments come a day after President Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters Turkey will not wait at Europe’s door forever and could walk away from EU accession talks if rising Islamophobia and hostility from some member states persist.
The Dutch center-left lawmaker, who is “rapporteur” on Turkey, told reporters ahead of a plenary debate on relations with Turkey that if Erdogan pushed through all the changes, which enhance his own powers, then the EU should formally suspend long-stalled talks on membership.
“As Turkey with such a constitution cannot become an EU member, it also doesn’t make sense to continue discussions on accession,” said Piri, echoing a number of other leading figures in the legislature, which last year passed a non-binding resolution calling for a suspension of the process.
On Monday, the EU executive’s commissioner responsible for membership applications, Johannes Hahn, called on EU foreign ministers to consider ending Turkey’s accession process when they meet in Malta on Friday.
Like Hahn, Piri suggested that Brussels could step up talks on enhancing the customs union which Turkey already has with the EU over the next two to three years. She said that process could also give Europeans leverage to persuade Turkey to reverse policies which EU leaders say are undermining Turkish democracy.
Turkey can’t join EU with new constitution -lead EU lawmaker
Turkey can’t join EU with new constitution -lead EU lawmaker
Beijing slams ‘groundless accusations’ after Ukraine summons Chinese envoy
“China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulation,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference in response to a question about China’s ambassador being summoned by Kyiv.
Pope Francis’s coffin arrives in Saint Peter’s Basilica to lie in state
- Heads of state are expected for Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square
- The three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the pontiff
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis’s body arrived at Saint Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to lie in state before his weekend funeral.
The late pope’s open wooden coffin was carried by pallbearers the 500 meters from the Casa Santa Marta where he lived and died, behind a procession of red-robed cardinals.
Heads of state are expected for the funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, but the three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the 88-year-old pope, who died Monday after suffering a stroke.
Francis first lay in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household. Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed Francis lying in an open casket, wearing the traditional pointed headdress of bishops and red robes, his hands folded over a rosary. The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was pictured praying by Francis.
Italian police have tightened security for the viewing and the funeral, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December. The faithful who walk through St. Peter’s Holy Door are granted indulgences, a way to help atone for sins.
“For me, Pope Francis represents a great pastor, as well as a great friend to all of us,’’ said Micale Sales, visiting St. Peter’s Basilica from Brazil.
“I think he spread a positive message around the world, saying there shouldn’t be any violence, there should be peace around the world,’’ said Amit Kukreja, from Australia.
The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and will be attended by leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky.
Cardinals are continuing their meetings this week to plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor, make other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and the ordinary faithful grieve the pontiff’s death.
History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
He had some reservations about looping through the square packed with 50,000 faithful, Vatican News reported on Tuesday, but overcame them – and was thankful that he had greeted the crowd. He died the next morning.
“The death of a pope is not a small thing, because we’ve lost our leader,’’ said Julio Henrique from Brazil. “But still, in a few days, we will have a new leader. So … the thing of hope remains. Who will assume Peter’s throne?”
China-led lunar base to include nuclear power plant on moon’s surface, space official
- The world’s second largest economy is aiming to become a major space power and land astronauts on the moon by 2030
SHANGHAI: Preliminary plans for the China and Russia-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) include building a nuclear reactor on the moon’s surface, a presentation by a Chinese space official on Wednesday showed.
The presentation by Pei Zhaoyu, chief engineer for China’s 2028 Chang’e-8 mission, showed that the base’s energy supply could also depend on large-scale solar arrays, which would be built on the moon’s surface.
China’s Chang’e-8 mission aims to lay the groundwork for the construction of a permanent manned lunar base. The world’s second largest economy is aiming to become a major space power and land astronauts on the moon by 2030.
China’s timeline to build an outpost on the moon’s south pole coincides with NASA’s more ambitious and advanced Artemis program, which aims to put US astronauts back on the lunar surface in December 2025.
Wu Weiren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Project, said last year that a “basic model” of the ILRS, with the South Pole of the Moon as its core, would be built by 2035.
The Chang’e lunar probe launches are part of the construction phase for the “basic model” outlined by Wu.
In future, China will create the “555 Project”, inviting 50 countries, 500 international scientific research institutions, and 5,000 overseas researchers to join the ILRS.
Russia destroys energy facility in Ukraine’s Kherson
- The drone attacks are continuing and there could be emergency power cuts
DUBAI:Russian forces destroyed an energy facility in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson early on Wednesday, the regional governor said.
Oleksandr Prokudin said the facility, which provided the city of Kherson with electricity, had come under Russian artillery and drone attacks for more than 24 hours.
“Our military fought all night to repel the enemy attacks. However, in the morning, the Russians succeeded in destroying the energy facility,” Prokudin said on Telegram.
The drone attacks are continuing and there could be emergency power cuts as energy workers are working to stabilize the situation, he added.
China’s Xi says tariffs ‘hurt’ multilateral trade
- China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday tariffs “hurt” the multilateral trading system as he hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart for talks in Beijing, state media said.
Tariff and trade wars “undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and impact the world economic order,” he told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in a blistering trade war since US President Donald Trump this month slapped a 145 percent blanket tax on Chinese imports.
China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing’s commerce ministry this week warned other nations to be wary in seeking a deal with Washington.
“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” a ministry spokesperson said Monday in a statement.
“Appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not be respected,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Xi said that “despite a constantly changing international situation,” China and Azerbaijan had maintained close ties.
A day earlier, in phone calls with his British and Austrian counterparts, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi urged Britain and the European Union to help in defending multilateral trade.
