Turkish Press
Dec 10 2004
Hopefully In October
BYEGM: 12/10/2004
BY DERYA SAZAK
MILLIYET- In Turkey, the word `ohala’ means `hopefully.’ European
Parliament President Josep Borrel said recently in Brussels, `Turkey
wants to become part of Europe, but it should see the difficulties.
We will accept starting EU membership talks with Turkey. Our
watchword to our Turkish friends concerning membership is ohala.’ The
EP will convene on Dec. 14 in Strasbourg, just three days before the
Dec. 17 EU summit, to approve a decision to start membership talks
with Turkey. The importance of this decision in terms of the leaders’
summit is symbolic, that is, it’s not binding. However, a majority of
votes favoring Turkey might sway European public opinion. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Turkey’s red lines, and this
might influence the Netherlands’ work reviewing the draft statement
for the summit. However, the latest draft didn’t dispel suspicions
about a date for talks and membership. Paragraphs left blank will be
filled by the leaders during next Friday’s EU summit. If the
screening process begins next April, it’s expected that an
intergovernmental conference meeting will be held in October.
Borrell’s `hopefully’ is based on this. However, if there’s
disagreement among the leaders concerning the nature of Turkey’s
membership or a date for talks, the problem will likely be left to
the European Commission.
Ankara wouldn’t want EU leaders to push the buck to the commission.
This is a worst-case scenario, and Erdogan would freeze the EU
process, as then Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz did during the 1997 EU
summit in Luxembourg. Even if there are certain technical problems in
Brussels, such a conclusion is the least likely scenario. Diplomatic
bargaining will continue until the night of Dec. 17. Obviously
everything won’t end with the beginning of our talks. In Brussels we
might face shocks: demands to de facto recognize the `Cyprus
Republic,’ to find a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, and to
improve relations with Armenia. Everybody in the EP is saying
different things. Before the vote on Dec. 14, the submission of more
than 500 motions shows this, no?