Brussels, 09/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - The presidency of the European People's Party is not in favour of the European Council of Copenhagen giving a date for the beginning of negotiations for Turkey's accession to the European Union.d This was announced to a small group of journalists by the president of the EPP-ED Group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, just a few days before the EPP Summit of 11 December in Copenhagen, which will precede the European Council.
The EPP steering bodies agree to give preference to the solution of a special partnership between the EU and Turkey, the CDU elected member said, while admitting that this proposal had not been adopted at the vote on the Brok Report on enlargement during the plenary in Strasbourg, and that this special "partnership" should be more precisely defined. Mr Pöttering also recalled that the EPP-ED Group was that which, at the time of the vote on EU/Turkey Customs Union in 1995, had vigorously urged in favour of the Customs Union agreement against the leftwing majority.
The EPP is not unanimous on the fundamental issue of whether Turkey is a country that can, or not, aspire to EU membership, Mr Pöttering admitted. In his view, setting a date in Copenhagen for the beginning of future negotiations could entail a process that it might not be possible to control, while the Union should begin by absorbing enlargement of unprecedented magnitude. He felt they should move forward "step by step". Also, to demonstrate that religion is not a problem, he noted that a Muslim country like Bosnia-Herzegovina is called upon to become, in time, a member of the European Union.