Deutsche Presse-Agentur
December 16, 2004, Thursday
12:27:43 Central European Time
ROUNDUP: E.U. set to okay Turkey entry talks – with conditions
Brussels
European Union leaders are expected to approve opening membership
talks with Turkey at a summit Thursday, but the historic decision
will be tempered with warnings Ankara must meet tough standards and
that negotiations will take over a decade.
“The time to start negotiations with Turkey has come,” said European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, adding that Ankara “must go
the extra mile” and show its allegiance to core European values.
Turkey, which has been seeking to join the European Union (E.U.) for
over 40 years, is expected to be told at the bloc’s two-day summit
that accession talks can begin in the second half of 2005.
But two key sticking points remain, said diplomats.
First, is Turkey’s refusal to grant diplomatic recognition to E.U.
member state Cyprus which despite its non-recognition by Ankara is
still expected to give a green light to opening E.U. talks. The
decision by E.U. leaders must be unanimous.
“What kind of message does it send when you do not recognise all the
members of the club you want to join?” asked Barroso.
The Commission chief said Cyprus was a test of Turkey’s willingness
to “win over the hearts and minds of everyone in Europe.”
E.U. leaders want Turkey to agree to extend a customs union pact with
the bloc to all new E.U. states, including Cyprus, which joined the
Union in May this year.
But Ankara, which only recognises self-styled Turkish northern
Cyprus, has so far refused to do this.
Observers expect the E.U. to fudge the issue at the summit and issue
a declaration saying they welcome “the intention” of Turkey to extend
customs union.
Asked about calls by France for Turkey to recognise the killing of up
to 1.5 million Christian Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915
as a genocide, Barroso said the question would have to be up for
frank discussion.
But he underlined this should take place at a later date and that no
new political terms should be set prior to the start of E.U.
accession negotiations. Turkey rejects the label of genocide with
regard to the Armenians.
The second summit sticking point is what wording will be used to make
clear to Ankara that negotiations will be open-ended and their
successful outcome is not guaranteed.
A senior German official said full membership for Ankara was the E.U.
goal and demands by a minority of member states, led by Austria, for
setting an option of second class membership – a so-called
“privileged partnership” – was not on the cards.
“That issue is dead,” added an E.U. diplomat.
Austria as well as France and Denmark, remain nervous about admitting
a large, poor and mainly Moslem state with 70 million people to what
has until now been a mainly Christian club.
A German opinion poll this week showed just 15 per cent back giving
Turkey full E.U. membership. Turks, numbering 2.4 million, are
Germany’s biggest minority.
“Obviously there are problems with public opinion in some member
states,” admitted Barroso who stressed that final admission for
Turkey would have to come from all 25 E.U. countries.
Given these concerns, E.U. leaders will tell Turkey improvements are
needed to meet the 25-nation bloc’s Copenhagen Criteria which include
standards for human rights, minority protection and rule of law.
Ankara will also be told that further economic reforms are needed as
well as moves to ensure the traditionally strong role of the military
in the country is curbed.
Concern over large numbers of Turkish immigrants flooding into the
E.U. has led the Dutch E.U. presidency to seek giving individual
member states a long-term right to impose controls on the movement of
people.
E.U. member states are not the only ones on edge. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned in recent days that Turkey
will not accept membership at any cost.
Also on the E.U. summit agenda is a further enlargement issue: the
bloc’s leaders are expected to announce membership talks have been
concluded with Bulgaria and Romania.
But the two countries, which failed to make the grade for the E.U.’s
10 nation expansion last May 1, will be told they still must make
progress in a number of areas including justice and corruption and
that planned accession in 2007 could be delayed until 2008.
The summit is likely to approve opening membership talks with Croatia
in March or April next year conditional on Zagreb’s cooperating with
war crimes trials linked to the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.
Croatia, which could also join by 2008 or 2009, would be the second
former Yugoslav state to become an E.U. member following Slovenia
which joined last May 1. dpa lm si jm