Brussels, 19/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned “certain member states” which, in his view, are seeking to undermine Turkey's accession process to the European Union, that Ankara will not give up either reforms already underway or its goal of becoming a full member. Speaking to the press, on Wednesday 19 December in Brussels, after the 4th ministerial accession negotiation conference with his country, Mr Babacan cited the principle of international law, pacta sunt servanda, to underline that all member states are under an obligation to abide by the negotiating framework agreed in October 2005 just before talks opened, and which clearly stipulate that the “shared objective” is Turkey's membership, even though the outcome of the talks cannot be guaranteed. “All member states approved this negotiating framework. It is therefore legitimate for Turkey to wait for this decision to be upheld, and promises kept”, the minister said. On this point, the president-in-office of the Council, Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado, said Mr Babacan was quite right. Without citing France - which openly states it does not want Turkey in the EU and which refuses therefore to negotiate on all chapters explicitly aimed at preparing membership - Mr Amada asserted that it would be “difficult to imagine the rules of the game being changed in the middle of the negotiating process”.
The attitude adopted by Paris, and by “certain other member states that wish to undermine the negotiation process, is neither adequate nor responsible”, said the Turkish foreign minister, who is also chief negotiator for EU membership. “If the aim of such provocation is to make Turkey give up its ideals and its aim of accession, then it is lost in advance: we shall continue with our reforms”, which should allow the country to meet the accession criteria, he stressed.
Luis Amada and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, who were also present at the press conference, sought to reassure Ankara. In their view, Turkey's accession process is “well and truly alive” and “negotiations are moving forward”. Still better proof of this is the decision taken on Wednesday 19 December to open talks on two additional chapters - trans-European networks, and health and consumer protection. In total, Turkey has now opened six of the 35 chapters (to those cited above can also be added those on industrial policy and enterprise, financial control and statistics). A single chapter has been closed provisionally: that on science and research. Olli Rehn felt that the two new chapters opened at the end of the Portuguese presidency are an “excellent result”, all the more as they are two chapters which will have an important impact on the economy and daily life of the Turkish population. Mr Rehn expects more progress will be made during the Slovenian presidency of the EU Council, during the first half of 2008. In his view, it is “realistic” to consider that “two to three” new chapters will be opened by July 2008, without it being possible at this stage to anticipate which chapters these will be. On the Turkish side, it is stressed that, in theory, up to seven chapters will be technically ready for negotiation during the first half of 2008, but it is admitted that even three new openings under Slovenian presidency would be quite an achievement. Generally speaking, Mr Babacan stressed that the chapters should be opened “as soon as they are technically ready”. He called for the EU to refrain from “delaying the opening of chapters for political reasons”. Mr Rehn announced that Commission President José Manuel Barroso was to be in Turkey in early 2008. (H.B.)