Noordwijk, 06/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - In a backdrop to the informal EU agriculture ministers' meeting in the Netherlands, Commissioner Franz Fischler, mentioned the consequences of possible Turkish accession to the EU. The European Commission is expected to adopt on 6 October the report on the recommendations for opening negotiations with Ankara but was also of the opinion that the Turkish question included a strong risk of interfering with the debate with the European constitution. Fischler said that it was inevitable that this was at stake but he also stated that it was clear that if negotiations begin they would take time. The Commissioner informed the press that he was almost sure that if there is a positive conclusion to these negotiations there would be referendums in different countries at this summit.
Mr Fischler underlined that the EU's enlargement to include Turkey would have very significant consequences in agriculture. He pointed out that the agricultural sector in Turkey is "highly protected" and that internal pricing practised in the country are in part higher than in the EU. He said that one of the consequences of accession would be that in many sectors Turkish farmers would suffer from lower prices. The Commissioner explained that on the other hand, there were other sectors where prices were well below those in the EU. The Commissioner explained that one of the most serious problems was the difference in prices in Turkey and the EU. Fischler added that Turkey and the EU had completely different systems for agricultural aid, which therefore risked creating a totally new situation for the Turkish administration. Another difference: in Turkey there was a higher percentage of semi-subsistence farms than in the new Member States. In Fischler's opinion, Turkish accession would have major changes on the Turkish production structure and that this could induce significant costs for the EU. The Commission explained that this cost would be practically the same as that for the last enlargement of the ten new Member States but added, nonetheless that no exact figures could be provided as they still needed certain data.