Brussels, 17/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - "There is no 'privileged partnership' on our agenda (...) It is not even something we would be prepared to countenance". These are the words, reported by Reuters, with which Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reacted on Monday to the offer of such a partnership between Turkey and the EU put forward by Angela Merkel, CDU President.
In Brussels on Tuesday, Günter Verheugen consciously distanced himself from Angela Merkel's words. Answering questions at the end of his meeting with the special UN representative to Cyprus (see above), the Commissioner for Enlargement stressed the crucial importance for European of maintaining its position on Turkey's accession. He said that the position of the CDU president was an isolated one. Reforms in Turkey and the reunification of Cyprus "are clearly linked to the fact that the European Union has a very clear and serious strategy, whereby Turkey is eligible if it fulfils certain criteria", he said, adding that he had had "no indication that the Member States have changed their mind". He said he was "certain" that Chancellor Schröder would confirm this during his visit to Ankara. He added that "what Angela Merkel has proposed, the special status, already exists" with the association and free trade between the EU and Turkey.