Schroeder urges reforms in friendly talks

Thursday, May 5, 2005

DIPLOMACY

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a staunch supporter of Turkey’s
bid to join the European Union, told Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to press forward with reforms needed to open accession
talks on Oct. 3, particularly pointing out deficiencies in religious
freedoms for non-Muslims and the necessity to sign a protocol extending
Ankara’s customs union deal with the EU to Greek Cyprus.

But in an effort to ease Turkish frustration with rising European
skepticism over Ankara’s membership bid, he reiteratedthat the talks
would open on Oct. 3 as scheduled and warned that the historic EU
commitment to open the way for Turkish membership should not be harmed
by “changing public opinion” in Europe.

“One cannot make such an important, strategic decision of such immense
historical meaning dependent on changing opinion polls,” Schroeder
said after talks with Erdogan.

In a move underlining the importance he attaches to the situation of
non-Muslim minorities in Turkey, Schroeder visited Greek Orthodox
Patriarch Bartolomeos in Istanbul and said religious freedom was a
“European principle.” But he fell short of calling for the re-opening
of a Greek Orthodox seminary on Heybeli Island near Istanbul.

The German chancellor said the Turkish Cypriots were beingunfairly
treated after they voted for a U.N. plan to reunite the island and
emphasized that efforts to end their isolation must not be blocked.

Schroeder also voiced support for Erdogan’s proposal for a joint
study of Armenian allegations of genocide at the hands of the late
Ottoman Empire, saying such offers were always beneficial.