Brussels, 05/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - At Mettlach on Tuesday, Angela Merkel and Jacques Chirac did not call for a new deadline for Turkey to meet is commitments on the Customs Union, but called for a re-assessment of the situation between 2007 and 2009. “Our goal is that the Ankara Protocol will be implemented,” the German Chancellor said at a press conference after her meeting with the French and Polish Presidents. “We do not want to set any kind of ultimatum” for Turkey, she went on, although the idea of a rendez-vous clause to encourage Turkey to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels and aeroplanes had been spoken of (see EUROPE 9320 in particular). This struck a raw nerve with Ankara and pushed the Enlargement Commissioner to call for caution from Paris and Berlin. “The position of France is exactly that which the Chancellor has just described and I believe that Poland's position is not very far away from ours,” added Mr Chirac.
The Commission would thus be invited to examine the situation prevailing between autumn 2007 (after the Turkish elections and the next Commission progress report) and the elections at the European Parliament in May 2009, Ms Merkel explained. She felt the Commission's proposals were a “good base for talks”.
In a joint declaration, the three leaders also reaffirmed the importance of Russia as a strategic partner and urged for a “long-term partnership with Russia based on common interests and equal rights, mainly in energy and trade”. Although he gave his assurance that France and Germany have now renewed their solidarity, Lech Kaczynski did not show his intention to lift the veto on opening talks with a view to a new partnership agreement with Moscow. (ab)