29/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - CSU MEP Bernd Posselt has sharply criticised President Bush's words of encouragement to the EU to provide Turkey with a date for beginning its accession negotiations (EUROPE yesterday pp 5 and 7). In a declaration Mr Posselt stated, "The EU is not a US satellite and Bush is not its supreme high commander". The Bavarian MEP pointed out that the EU now had more inhabitants than the USA and Russia put together and that this compelled it "to finally be able to take action on the international scene". Posselt concluded that Turkish accession would prevent the EU from achieving the latter whether or not it was the goal of the Bush initiative or not.