Brussels, 21/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - The text of the EU's revised declaration on Turkey on which a principled agreement was reached last Monday evening at Coreper (EUROPE 9031) finally obtained the Council's approval on Wednesday by written procedure. Cyprus and Greece are said to be very pleased with the text. Quoted by the ANA agency, the spokesperson for the Greek foreign affairs department, George Koumoutsakos affirmed that, “the counter statement constitutes a kind of birth certificate of the 'de facto' recognition of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkey”. Koumoutsakos also explained that the statement by the EU also makes Turkey's obligation to fully implement the Protocol on Customs Union “clear and imperative”.
Meanwhile, discussions on the negotiating framework for Turkey made headway on Wednesday's meeting at Coreper where the 24 Member States, including Greece and Cyprus, marked their agreement on the proposed draft. Austria is alone in continuing to call for modifications, precisions and clarifications on the language used, notably with regard to the objective of accession negotiations. Vienna is therefore seeking that the term “open-ended process” (reference to the accession negotiations: Editor's note) be given more explanation in the negotiations framework, that the formulation on the EU's absorption capacity be strengthened and that alternative possibilities to Turkey's accession are clearly mentioned in the draft “in one way or another”, explained one Austrian diplomat. The draft proposed by the Commission stipulates that the shared objective is the pure and simple accession of Turkey, while underlining that the process remains open and that the result of the negotiations obviously cannot be guaranteed beforehand. The British presidency, which is now excluding the possibility of a special Council of foreign affairs ministers on Turkey (a meeting which some had proposed for 26 September, a week before the opening of negotiations on 3 October), is pursuing bilateral meetings with Austria (at Ambassador level) in the hope of getting a final agreement at the next Coreper meeting, normally expected for next Wednesday.