Brussels, 08/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 7 November, Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Füle stressed the importance of focusing on the accession process rather than on the date of 2023, which is considered as the date of accession by the Turkish prime minister (see EUROPE 10722). “I believe that the discussion on 2023 distracts our attention and moves us away from the essential matters. I don't think that discussing about realistic or less realistic dates would remove the current barriers (…) Moreover, I believe that this would make things even more complicated since people may start thinking that the main problem is the date for membership rather than the real barriers” before this accession, he said in an interview with Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet Daily. “Creating alternative issues, alternative problems and alternative agendas is one of the biggest barriers before Turkey”, Füle added. He warned against the rhetoric of “we deserve this or that”, adding that he does not understand how this kind of approach could help remove the problems.
“The main issue is the negotiation process. Frankly speaking, the accession goal is in place. However, it is difficult to talk about a process”, he said.
Füle/Davutoglu meeting.
The same day, Füle spoke to the Turkish minister for foreign affairs, Ahmet Davutoglu, about the state of relations between Turkey and the EU. “We discussed ways how to regain momentum in Turkey's accession process”, he said in a press release, adding that emphasis was also put on Turkey's progress report, published on 10 October. The Turkish minister for European affairs, Egemen Bagis, had strongly criticised this report (see EUROPE 10708). Füle also said that he hopes the Commission will soon be able to revive the roadmap on visa liberalisation, in parallel with the Turkish signature on the readmission agreement. Füle also called for efforts to avoid deterioration in the health of the Kurdish prisoners who are on hunger strike (see EUROPE 10725). Lastly, the two men discussed the Syrian crisis and Turkey's welcome of the refugees. (CG/transl.fl)