AUSTRIA ASKS FOR PAUSE IN TURKEY’S EU NEGOTIATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
15.11.2006 13:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Austria, whose public is largely against Turkey’s
possible membership to the European Union, has asked for a pause in
Turkey’s EU entry talks. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik
spoke to press on Monday prior to the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in
Brussels. "If there is no important move between now and December,
it might be wise to agree on a time-out to reduce tensions," she
said. Plassnik was largely alone in this opinion as other EU Foreign
Ministers did not support such a move. The French and German ministers
admitted that it would of no use to give a time-out in Turkey’s
EU negotiations and even Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Yiorgos
Lillikas said that even they did not want a pause in negotiations with
Turkey. Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said there would be a
"major crisis" if Turkey did not fulfill its commitments on giving
access to Cypriot shipping but also added that he was against a full
suspension of negotiations, reports Zaman.