Brussels, 30/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Commission's recommendations on the fate of membership talks with Turkey are considered inevitable by several, somewhat fatalistic, European leaders (EUROPE 9317). In Turkey, there is a prevailing feeling of incredulity and people speak of partiality on the part of the EU. Reminding the EU of its own commitments, the Turkish Minister for the Economy and Chief Negotiator for EU membership, Ali Babacan, also urges for the Cypriot question to be kept out of negotiations.
“The Commission did not have a choice - it had to make this recommendation”, Jacques Chirac told Recept Tayyip Erdogan during a bilateral meeting on the fringe of the NATO summit in Riga, where the Turkish prime minister had said the decision was “unacceptable”. Also present in the Latvian capital was the president of the Italian Council, Romano Prodi, who also believes it was “difficult to do otherwise”. Another Head of State to discuss with Mr Erdogan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, expressed concern about this “negative message” sent by Europe to Turkey. “The door must be left open for Turkey”, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero said for his part, while his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, sees a “strong signal” in the line defended by the Commission, saying: “it would be good to foresee a rendezvous clause so that the European Council can take stock of the situation regarding Turkey in eighteen months from now, for example”.
“We oppose the linkage between the negotiations and Cyprus”, protested Ali Babacan in an interview with The Financial Times on Thursday. The Turkish Economy Minister said “our proposal on the Cyprus issue is to put it to one side in the accession negotiations and deal with it by lifting sanctions on both sides simultaneously” as “it is impossible for Turkey to open its ports to Cyprus unilaterally”. In his view, “The prime minister has committed himself publicly on this” and “the whole of Turkey is behind the government's stance”. Recalling that, after the rejection of the UN peace plan by the Greek Cypriots, the EU had decided to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community, he urged for a bilateral commitment. “The EU has not carried through on its promise” and it is “unfair to ask Turkey to make a unilateral concession to take goods from Cyprus within the customs union when the EU is not open to northern Cyprus”. But, Mr Babacan stressed, one should not be mistaken. “Turkey shares Europe's fundamental values of democracy and the rule of law”, he said, also underlining the macroeconomic success of his country. Forecasts for 2007 show that the ratio of public sector net debt to GDP should reach the 60% mark and that “Turkey should easily hit all the Maastricht treaty criteria for debt, deficits and inflation within a couple of years”.
TÜSIAD, the voice of Turkish industry and business, urges for better understanding between the EU and Turkey, encouraging them to be “rational and forward-looking in avoiding vicious circles”. In a press release, they call on the EU to be “fair to Turkey in its commitments”, saying that this calls for Turkey's position on the Cyprus question to be better understood. TÜSIAD therefore insists that there should be an end to the economic isolation of northern Cyprus and calls for the simultaneous lifting of customs restrictions. It trusts that Europeans and Turks will “focus on concrete factors of integration, which will have a more long-term impact on the future of Europe”. (ab)
Plenary session of the European Parliament