Brussels, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The question of Cyprus and interpreting paragraph 19 of the European Council conclusions (see Europe/Documents in annex to this issue) on extending the EU-Turkey customs agreement signed in Ankara to the ten new EU Member States is causing much to-ing and fro-ing, which is likely to continue until 3 October 2005, the date scheduled for the launch of accession negotiations with Turkey. If Turkey doesn't sign, the negotiations will not be launched, commented the President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, after the European Council, noting in an television interview this weekend that Cyprus had the power of veto. The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the EU at the end of the European Council (repeating his comments at the press conference following the Council) that extending the Ankara agreement did not amount to recognition of Cyprus in any way, which also seems to be view of most EU leaders.
Jan Marinus Wiersma, Vice-President of the PES with responsibility for Turkish issues, hailed the European Council's decision to hold fast to the objective of full accession. Graham Watson, ALDE group chairman, welcomed the European Council's decision: 'This is a huge opportunity to break down the barriers between Islam and Christendom West and demonstrate that the EU is not about creating a superstate but rather a Community of Values, open to all Europeans who would embrace them.' 'Signing the protocol to the Ankara agreement, which would recognise the accession of 10 new Member States, including Cyprus, to the EU on 1 May this year would represent a courageous political gesture to normalising relations with Cyprus in the near future and would underscore the capacity of the EU to heal old wounds and create a positive climate for the start of negotiations'. For the EPP-ED, Alain Lamassoure, spokesperson for the French MEPs in the UMP, has published a press release commenting on the outcome of the European Council and noting that a privileged partnership solution will end up the best solution, both for the EU and for Turkey itself. The European Council's outcome is not very surprising, commented the EPP-ED President, Hans-Gert Pottering, noting that the conclusions echoed the EPP's conclusion on the Summit by foreseeing the option of negotiations revealing that Turkey is not able to meet the necessary conditions for becoming a member of the EU, as a kind of safety clause to avert an all or nothing situation, noted the CDU MEP in a press release. Much more optimistic, the co-Presidents of the Greens/EFA group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni, welcomed the decision to launch accession negotiations with Turkey and the compromise on Cyprus, adding that permanent safety clauses were unacceptable. In a press release, German Green MEP Cem Ozdemir (of Turkish origin) and other German Turks (MPs, writers, film directors, sports stars and lawyers) expressed 'huge joy' at the European Council decision, which they described as calling on Turkey to transform itself.
Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which Turkey has been a member of since 1949, commented: 'Turkey fully deserves these negotiations…(It) has achieved substantial progress in the fields of human rights and democracy, and has clearly demonstrated its commitment to fundamental European values.'
The World Bank 'applauds the decision and commits itself to helping Turkey implement the economic and social reforms which are central to its quest to become a member of the European Union', said Shigeo Katus, Regional Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia on Friday.