Government plays down fact Turkey’s ports and airports still closed to Cyprus
THE government yesterday sought to play down concerns that Turkey’s readiness to sign the EU customs union protocol – confirmed yesterday – did not entail any form of recognition of Cyprus by Ankara.
Earlier in the day, the Turkish government said it had sent a letter to the European Commission confirming it was ready to sign a protocol extending its customs union with the EU to the 10 new members, including Cyprus.
Extending the protocol is a key condition before Turkey can begin EU accession talks in October, but Ankara insists the protocol will not amount to recognition of the Greek Cypriot government.
The Turkish move yesterday was welcomed by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, who said the letter would set in motion a decision by ministers leading to the signature of the accord in time for Turkey to start EU entry talks on October 3.
Speaking before the European Parliament foreign affairs committee, Rehn said the letter was a “good omen for the forthcoming negotiations as it shows that Turkey sticks to its commitments.”
Rehn’s spokesman, Krisztina Nagy, reiterated the EU’s view that the move did not entail recognition.
“The signing of the protocol… is not a legal or formal recognition of the Republic of Cyprus,” she explained, referring back to the conclusions of the EU summit last December.
Although the protocol makes no reference to Ankara’s desire to clarify that signature does not imply recognition, this is expected to be stated verbally by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the signing.
Sources in Brussels corroborated that the text agreed by Ankara and the EU made no specific reference to Turkey’s obligation to recognise Cyprus or to its need to open Turkish harbours and airports to Cypriot ships and planes.
The government has indicated that it will not consent to Turkey’s accession unless it first agrees that Cypriot vessels will have access to Turkish territorial waters and airspace.
But Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed yesterday that Ankara’s ports and airports would remain closed to Cypriot vessels and aircraft, saying that Cypriot goods would have to enter Turkey via other EU countries, most likely Greece.
Commenting on Turkey’s stance, Nagy said the European Commission considered that the Turkish restrictions violated the customs union.
Media reports from Brussels yesterday said that, given the protocol document does not spell out a candidate’s obligation to grant other EU members access to its harbours and ports, Turkey was playing a semantics game.
Ankara’s letter to the European Commission was yesterday described by sources in Cyprus as being tantamount to initialing the agreement; however, the actual signing is set to take place sometime this summer, and will next have to be ratified by the European Parliament and the Turkish National Assembly.
Political commentators say that leaves plenty of time for negotiations to clear up exactly what Turkey’s signing of the protocol means with regard to Cyprus. The deliberations, of course, could go either way.
President Papadopoulos said yesterday there was “nothing adverse” in the wording of the text agreed between the EU and Turkey; earlier in the week, the government said it had been aware for several days of the content of the protocol.
Quizzed by journalists, Papadopoulos said: “Whoever said that the signing of the protocol constitutes recognition?”
“It is, however, a first step toward normalising relations between the two countries,” he added.
Nevertheless, stressed Papadopoulos, Turkey would have to sign the protocol before October 3.
He further insisted that signature also automatically meant that Turkey was obliged to implement the protocol.
Asked whether Ankara might seek to put off implementation for a long time, Papadopoulos said the protocol should be enforced “not too long after October 3.”
Yet the “all-clear” sounded by the government seemed to contradict its position so far, according to which there was no way it would give Ankara the go-ahead for the start of accession negotiations unless it had concrete guarantees that Turkey would treat Cyprus equally as all other EU member-states.
At the EU summit in December, Cyprus went along with EU countries in granting Turkey a date for the start of accession negotiations; at the time, the government indicated that its next major challenge lay in Turkish signature of the customs union protocol without any limitations.
