Turkish foreign minister Gul meets EU officials on extending customs
accord to Cyprus
AP Worldstream
Apr 26, 2005
CONSTANT BRAND
Turkey’s foreign minister Abdullah Gul met top European Union
officials Tuesday to discuss how the two sides could implement a deal
to expand Ankara’s EU customs agreement to include Cyprus, a key
requirement to starting membership talks.
The 25-nation EU was also to review Ankara’s progress in enforcing
widespread reforms it wants completed before Turkey can start EU entry
talks this October. Those measures include boosting reform of the
judiciary and implementing minority rights.
The most sensitive item on the agenda was how Turkey would implement
the customs protocol, which Ankara said it would sign before the
planned start of entry talks in October.
Signing up to the protocol is seen by many EU countries, but not
Cyprus, as a de facto recognition by Turkey of the Greek Cypriot
government.
However, Turkey and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn have argued
the protocol does not give such recognition, and is simply the
extension of a customs union to the 10 new member states which joined
last year.
Cyprus remains divided between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
Only the Greek Cypriot part of the island acceded to the EU last
year. Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. reunification plan in a
referendum just before joining the EU. Turkish Cypriots voted
overwhelmingly to approve it.
European nations, the United States and others do not recognize the
Turkish Cypriot republic in the southern part of the island.
Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 to block a coup by Greek Cypriots, and
decades of diplomacy have failed to reunite the Mediterranean
island. About 40,000 Turkish troops remain in northern Cyprus, which
is controlled by Turkish Cypriots.
EU leaders made the signing of the protocol a precondition for opening
entry talks, which they made clear gives no guarantee of eventual
membership.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Monday it expects a “long
negotiating process” and reiterated that France would bring up the
touchy issue of recognition of the Armenian killings during World War
I which the French parliament has called a genocide.
“We will pose this question and we want a response,” Barnier said,
adding the “European project is one of reconciliation.”
Earlier this month Gul said his government was calling on Armenia to
jointly research the killings. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in
the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians as part of a campaign to
force them out of eastern Turkey.
Ankara has denied this.