Turkey ups the stakes in diplomatic battle over EU bid
AFP: 12/15/2004

ANKARA, Dec 15 (AFP) – Raising its tone on the eve of a critical
summit, Turkey warned the European Union Wednesday that it would not
hesitate to give up its 40-year dream of joining the bloc if it is
offered a status falling short of full membership.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
in a frantic 11th-hour campaign to soften conditions for Turkey, drew
up so-called “red lines” they would not cross, at the risk of a
showdown with EU leaders at a Brussels summit Thursday and Friday.

“Turkey will not hesitate to say ‘no’ to the European Union if
unacceptable conditions are put forward,” Erdogan told EU ambassadors
here at a meeting on Tuesday, an aide to the prime minister told AFP.

He said that Ankara would treat any offer of a “priviliged
partnership” — rather than full membership — as unacceptable, along
with any offer to establish a special relationship between Turkey and
the EU if accession talks fail or are suspended.

The aide, speaking under cover of anonymity, could not say whether
Turkey’s eventual rejection of accession talks would amount to a
withdrawal of its candidacy for EU membership.

“I am not able to say what he (Erdogan) meant, but withdrawing the
candidacy may be an option in such a case,” he said.

EU leaders are likely to give the go-ahead to start accession talks
with Turkey, but Ankara fears tough conditions they are expected to
attach to that will ultimately lead not to full membership but an
alternative status widely referred to as a “privileged partnership.”

The idea for special status is being pushed by some EU members who
believe this vast, predominantly Muslim country is not fit for
full-fledged integration with the bloc.

EU heavyweight France, under pressure from a public opinion largely
hostile to Turkey, says it would like to see provisions for an
alternative relationship with Ankara in case negotiations for full
membership fail.

“We will not say ‘yes’ at any price,” Foreign Minister Gul told the
daily Milliyet in comments published Wednesday. “What we demand is
nothing more than our legitimate rights. We will not accept any
injustice.”

Gul laid down what he described as four “red lines” that Turkey would
not cross:

– Negotiations must have as their final aim full EU membership;

– The EU must not oblige Turkey to endorse the
internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government of EU-member
Cyprus before a settlement is found to the 30-year division of the
island’s Turkish and Greek communities;

– The decision to open membership talks with Turkey must be clear-cut,
and not conditional on any subsequent decision by EU leaders;

– There should be no permanent restrictions on Turkey once it becomes
a member.

Observers said permanent restrictions on such basic EU freedoms such
as the free circulation of people and labor would erode Turkey’s
eventual membership to an alternative status, even if it is not
explicitly described as such.

“The imposition of permanent safeguards means second-class
membership,” Cengiz Aktar, a specialist on EU affairs from Istanbul’s
Galatasaray University said. “Turkey would be right to turn its back
to the EU in such a case.”

Turkey has been an official candidate for membership since 1999, but
its first association agreement with the bloc dates back to 1963.

12/15/2004 12:07 GMT – AFP