TURKEY TELLS EU NOT TO BLOCK BID WITH IRRELEVANT POLITICAL ISSUES

Hurriyet
April 22 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Turkey delivered a message to European Union officials
demanding entry negotiations not be blocked by political issues that
are irrelevant to the negotiations process, during the Turkey-EU
Troika foreign ministers’ meeting in the Czech Republic’s capital of
Prague on Tuesday.

In Tuesday’s talks, it was decided to open the chapters on Social
Policy and Employment and Taxation to negotiations during the EU
presidency of the Czech Republic, Anatolian Agency, or AA, reported.

The Cyprus issue was also discussed in detail in the meeting, the
agency also reported citing diplomatic sources.

Turkey has informed EU authorities that Turkey’s guarantorship in
Cyprus will continue and that Turkey supports a bi-zonal partnership
based on political equality, the agency said.

EU officials have told Turkish authorities that they are pleased to
see improvement in relations between Turkey and Armenia, AA reported
adding that they expressed that "opening of the Turkish-Armenian border
will help the solution of a problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia".

Noting the frozen Karabakh conflict, EU authorities said that they
understand Azerbaijan’s sensitivity.

EU NEGOTIATOR BAGIS ARRIVES IN PARIS

Turkey’s Chief EU Negotiator, Egemen Bagis, who participated in the
EU Troika meeting, traveled to Paris where he will discuss the current
situation in Turkey-EU relations with French officials.

Bagis will first separately meet with French Minister of Agriculture
and Fisheries Michel Barnier and the chair of the French Parliament’s
EU Committee, Pierre Lequiller, on Wednesday.

He will also meet with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
the same day before attending a dinner to be hosted in his honor by
Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs Bruno Le Maire.

France is one of the loudest opponents of Turkey’s EU bid and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy has continually proposed a privileged
partnership option as an alternative to full membership.

France, which up till now vetoed opening of five negotiation chapters
directly related with Turkey’s full membership, allowed two chapters
to be opened during its term as EU president.