JOurnal of Turkish weekly
June 20 2005

Steps Leading Up to the October 3 Start Talks for Turkish EU Acceptance

source: Hurriyet

The most important step leading up to the October 3 talks which will
begin the process to determine Turkey-EU relations is the Framework
for Accession Talks document which will be published by the EU in
September. There is, however, the fear that relations between Turkey
and the EU could be affected negatively prior to the start of October
3 talks due to aspects of this document. Despite budget crises and
overturned referendums in the EU, there are no legal barriers to the
October 3 talks starting. A brief look at the process which will
proceed these talks for Turkey is as follows:

*** It is expected that Turkey will sign an additional protocol to
widen the current 25 country member Customs Union.

*** Following the signing of the additional protocol, a written
declaration that Turkey does not recognize the Cypriot Republic will
be recorded.

*** The Framework for Accession Talks document will be presented by
the EU Commission to the EU Council on June 29. This document is
expected to be a confirmation of the decisions made on December 17,
2004 regarding the Turkish EU membership process.

*** It is expected that this document will have many changes and
additions made to it be current EU member countries.

*** The real risk is that this document will have additions made to
it which will ultimately prevent Turkey’s EU membership. Demands made
on the Armenian matter, Cyprus, or the use of the “privileged
partner” expression are all aspects which could spell danger for
Turkey. If the requests made in the document become too heavy for
Turkey to handle, there is a real possibility that the start talks
could be rejected by the Turkish side.