PARLIAMENT POSTPONES RATIFYING TURKEY’S CUSTOMS UNION

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Sept 29 2005

FRUSTRATED over Turkey’s refusal to recognise Cyprus, the European
Parliament yesterday postponed a vote to ratify Turkey’s customs
union with the EU, a requirement of Ankara’s bid for membership in
the 25-member bloc.

Days before the scheduled start of EU membership talks, MEPs also
called on Ankara to recognise the 1915-1923 killings of Armenians as
a genocide, which Turkey vehemently denies.

The Turkish lira and stock market lost ground on the events, although
traders said they did not believe the October 3 opening of accession
talks was at risk.

The EU legislature has no say over the start or conduct of the talks
but its assent is needed before Turkey can join, which is at least
a decade away.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately dismissed the
non-binding European resolution on the killings of Armenians, saying:
“It does not matter whether they took such a decision or not. We will
continue on our way,” according to private CNN-Turk television.

MEPs said in their resolution that recognition of the 1915-1923
killings as genocide should be a prerequisite for Turkey to join the
European Union.

Armenians say that 1.5 million of their countrymen were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of the First World War, which Armenians
and several nations around the world recognise as the first genocide
of the 20th century.

Turkey denies that the massacres were genocide, saying the death toll
is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed.

The EU Parliament voted 311-285 to postpone the customs union
ratification vote at the request of conservative MEPs. There were
63 abstentions.

EU governments meanwhile remained deadlocked on the mandate for the
talks, with Austria seeking a more explicit mention of an alternative
to full membership.

EU foreign ministers will have to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday
in Luxembourg, hours before negotiations are to start, unless their
ambassadors clinch a deal earlier in Brussels.

The opening ceremony could slip to Monday evening because Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will not board a plane until the
EU ministers have formally endorsed a framework for negotiations,
diplomats said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, whose country holds the
revolving EU presidency, said it would be “a huge betrayal of the
hopes and expectations of the Turkish people and of Prime Minister
Erdogan’s programme of reform if, at the crucial time, we turned our
back on Turkey”.

The EU legislature demanded that Turkey recognise EU member Cyprus
soon and said negotiations could be suspended unless it granted access
to Cypriot aircraft and shipping by next year.

The vote by the parliament followed an emotional debate in which many
deputies attacked Turkey’s record on human rights, religious freedom
and minorities, reflecting widespread public hostility to the poor,
populous nation ever joining the bloc.

Greens party leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit caused an uproar by accusing
some right-wing critics of Turkey of “surfing on a wave of racism”.

The ballot’s delay will have no effect on the starting date for
Turkey’s accession negotiations, scheduled for October 3. The
assembly had already postponed its vote earlier this month, when
the parliament’s foreign affairs committee argued the customs union
would not work unless Turkey agreed to allow Cyprus to use its ports
or airports.

In July, Turkey signed an agreement to widen the customs union with
the EU to include Cyprus and nine other new EU members. But Ankara
said this did not amount to recognition of Cyprus.

EU governments issued a counter-declaration last week, warning that
failure to recognise Cyprus could paralyse Turkey’s EU entry talks.

European People’s Party chairman Hans-Gert Poettering said Turkey’s
position was “logically and politically unacceptable.” “We want … a
statement from Turkey saying non-recognition of Cyprus will not be
part of the ratification process (in the Turkish parliament),” he said.

“We haven’t received such a statement.” EU expansion chief Olli Rehn
said he regrets the parliament’s decision to postpone.

During the assembly’s debate, Martin Schulz, chairman the Socialists
in the Parliament, accused the conservatives of not wanting Turkey
in the EU.

“It would be better for you to say clearly: We don’t want Turkey in
the EU. You’re skirting the message,” Schulz said.

In their resolution, MEPs also voiced concern about criminal
proceedings against Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, who was charged with
insulting the country’s national character after making comments on
Turkey’s killing of Armenians and Kurds. He could face up to three
years in prison.

Some EU countries, including Germany, homeland of many of the MEPs
who sought postponement, advocate the idea of a privileged partnership
for Turkey rather than full membership.

A new draft text outlining negotiating guidelines for Turkey’s entry
talks had still not been finalised due to strong objections by Austria.

Vienna is also demanding the EU offer Turkey a privileged
partnership. An Austrian diplomat said Vienna’s demand has yet to be
met. All 25 nations must agree on the EU’s position before talks begin.

But Ankara reacted sharply, saying any deviation from full membership
would be unacceptable.