VOA标准英语2013--EU Delays Turkey Accession Talks, Disapproves Of Protest Crackdown

 

EU Delays Turkey Accession Talks, Disapproves¹ Of Protest Crackdown

The EU had planned to breathe new life into Turkey's bid to join the 27-nation bloc². Talks were due to start Wednesday on opening a new chapter in the accession process.

But the crackdown on anti-government protests in cities across Turkey has dismayed many European countries.

Led by Germany, EU foreign ministers voted to delay the start of talks until mid-October at the earliest.

Guido Westerwelle is Germany's Foreign Minister.

"On the one hand, we can't pretend that negotiations³ take place in a vacuum as if the last days hadn't happened. On the other hand, we should also make sure that our joint⁴ long-term strategic interests are protected," said Westerwelle.

The decision to delay the talks was pragmatic, says Pawel Swidlicki, an analyst⁵ with the London-based policy group Open Europe.

"It's a face-saving exercise for all involved. No-one really wants to say that this process is going nowhere so they've agreed to kick the can down the road until after the German elections, because this will be a contentious⁶ issue in those elections," said Swidlicki.

Germany goes to the polls in September. Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel's conservatives oppose EU membership for Turkey in their election manifesto⁸.

Speaking at the German-Turkish Chamber⁹ of Commerce, she reiterated¹⁰ her stance on the protests.

"I don't want to conceal¹¹ the fact that I was shocked by some pictures we've seen lately from Turkey. I hope that through a dialogue, solutions will be found in the future," said Merkel.

Three weeks of clashes in Istanbul and across Turkey have left four people dead and an estimated 7500 injured.

Many European countries say the police response has been overly harsh.

But Prime Minister Erdogan refuses to back down - recently calling the police actions heroic.  Erdogan lost interest in the European Union accession process long before the protests erupted, says Fadi Hakura of policy institute Chatham House.

"This can be partly explained by his longevity¹² in office and the fact that several European countries, specifically Germany and France do not want Turkey to join European club anytime soon," said Hakura.

But Britain, along with some other EU members, does want Turkey to become an EU member.  Again, Pawel Swidlicki of Open Europe.

"Turkey has huge economic potential at a time when Europe is stagnating¹³ politically, economically, demographically - in effect there's a whole raft of very serious challenges. And that contrasts quite vividly¹⁴ with Turkey's dynamism," he said.

Istanbul's mayor meanwhile has warned that the protests could cost the city the 2020 Summer Olympics. Organizers will choose the host city in September, and Istanbul authorities fear images like these will give rival candidate cities Madrid and Tokyo an advantage.

1 disapproves   

v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She disapproves of unmarried couples living together. 她反对未婚男女同居。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her mother disapproves of her wearing transparent underwear. 她母亲不赞成她穿透明的内衣。 来自辞典例句

2 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

11 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

12 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

13 stagnating   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I feel I'm stagnating in this job. 我觉得，干这份工作我没有长进。
• ITT was stagnating when Geneen became the chief executive officer in 1959. 1959年吉宁出任行政总负责人时，国际电话电报公司正处于不景气时期。 来自辞典例句

14 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。