TURKEY MAY WAIT DECADES TO JOIN EU

United Press International
Oct 16 2006

BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 (UPI) — Turkey may have to wait for as long as 20
years to join the European Union.

One of the big stumbling blocks is Cyprus, the EU Observer said.

Turkey has refused to lift a blockade against the Cypriot government,
an EU member, while other countries refuse to recognize the Turkish
part of Cyprus.

Jose Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, warned that
the admissions process is likely to slow down, The Times of London
reported. Barroso said that Turkey’s move to reform in human rights
has stalled.

Last week, the lower house of the French parliament approved a bill
that would make denying the Armenian genocide a crime. While that
bill is unlikely to become law, it has strained relations between
France and Turkey, where nationals who write about the genocide can
face criminal prosecution.

In an interview with the BBC, Barroso said that Turkish admission
"would be great" if the country met the EU criteria.

"This is not yet the case," he said. "It is a country that comes
from a different tradition. There are efforts in the right direction
but nowadays there is news that is not encouraging in terms of them
coming closer to us."