TURKEY TO REJECT TOUGHER CONDITIONS FOR EU MEMBERSHIP – PM

AFX International Focus
September 27, 2006 Wednesday 12:17 PM GMT

ISTANBUL (AFX) – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said any extra
conditions for Turkey’s European Union entry would be ‘unacceptable’
as he pledged that Ankara would stick to the path of democratic reform.

Erdogan was speaking after EU officials signalled that enlargement
may slow down after they opened the door for Bulgaria and Romania
in January.

‘We do not ask for privileges from the EU, but putting forward
new criteria is unacceptable for us,’ Erdogan told a conference
in Istanbul.

‘You cannot change the rules halfway through the match,’ he said.

‘The game has started and the rules are there.’

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said further
enlargement should be frozen until EU members decide on reforms to
streamline decision-making, referring to a gridlock over the bungled
EU constitution.

Turkey is also irked by attempts by some European Parliament members
to require Ankara to recognize as genocide the massacres of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire as a condition for EU membership.

‘Our (accession) talks will be tough and will take long time. We are
determined to work closely with the EU… to ensure that they are
successfully completed,’ Erdogan said.

‘Turkey’s reform process is continuing and there will be no going
back on that,’ he added.

The European Commission will issue on November 8 a key report on
Turkey’s progress towards membership, which is widely expected to
be critical.

Turkey is under fire for failing to ensure freedom of speech and its
rejection to open its sea and air ports to EU member Cyprus, whose
internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government Ankara refuses
to endorse.

Its accession talks, which started last October, have already met with
serious European opposition amid concerns over its sizeable population,
relatively weak economy and predominantly Muslim faith.

Erdogan argued that Turkey’s accession would be of ‘vital importance’
to prove that different cultures and religions can co-habitat and
called on EU members to keep that in mind when making their decisions
about the country.

Turkey is not expected to be ready for membership until at least 2015.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress