FRENCH President Jacques Chirac criticised Turkey yesterday for saying its signing of a key European Union protocol did not change its stance on Cyprus, increasing pressure on Ankara over its EU membership bid.
He told EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso during talks in Paris that Ankara’s declaration “poses political and legal problems and that it is not in the spirit expected of a candidate to the Union,” Chirac’s spokesman said.
In another potentially worrying development for Turkey, German conservative leader Angela Merkel wrote to European leaders seeking support for a proposal to offer Turkey a status short of full EU membership if entry talks fail.
Her position is shared by several leading conservative politicians in Europe, notably the likely French presidential candidate Nicholas Sarkozy, though others such as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi back Turkey’s entry bid.
Turkey is due to start accession talks on October 3 but faces strong public opposition in some EU member states, notably France, though Chirac backed the EU’s decision last December to invite Turkey to start entry talks.
Turkey cleared the last obstacle to the talks last month by signing what is known as the Ankara protocol extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus.
But Ankara also issued a declaration making clear the signing of the protocol did not signify recognition of the Cypriot government, regarded by Brussels as the sole legitimate authority on the island.
Political commentators said Chirac’s criticism raised the stakes before European foreign ministers meet on September 1-2 to discuss the negotiating framework for the entry talks.
“The fact that Chirac has now firmly come out highlighting his concerns with regard to Turkey’s position on Cyprus raises the stakes in the battle over Turkish EU accession,” said Timothy Ash, an analyst at London-based Bear Stearns International.
An EU Commission spokeswoman said in Brussels that Barroso had listened to Chirac’s remarks but did not say how he reacted. She reiterated that EU leaders had not required Turkey to formally recognise Cyprus for accession talks to begin.
The Turkish government did not immediately respond to Chirac’s comments and financial markets were not affected.
“We are pretty sure the voice of reason will prevail at the end and that we will be able to get through this difficult period,” a Turkish official said. “It is not an easy process… We believe that Turkey will start talks on October 3 as scheduled.”
But anxiety is growing in Turkey, particularly as French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on August 2 that Ankara must recognise Cyprus before starting membership talks.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democrats have been firm supporters of Turkey’s EU bid, but Merkel is expected to become chancellor after a general election on September 18.
Merkel, leader of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party, wrote in a letter to conservative European heads of government that the option of a “privileged partnership” should be included in the negotiating framework for the talks.
“If it turns out during the course of the negotiations that the conditions for full membership on the part of either the EU or Turkey are not fulfilled, there would be no realistic alternative,” she wrote. (R)
