TURKEY SAID on Friday it was confident of starting membership talks with the European Union on schedule next month despite a wrangle over its refusal to recognise Cyprus.
“I can’t see any problem that will prevent the start of talks on October 3,” Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told Turkish journalists after meeting his EU counterparts. He also held talks with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
European Union foreign ministers earlier said Turkey’s long-awaited talks to join the bloc would begin as scheduled on October 3 despite complications over Cyprus.
The wrangle is over whether Turkey should fully recognise the Republic of Cyprus and open its ports to Cypriot ships and aircraft, which Ankara has said it will not do in a declaration accompanying its signing of a customs union protocol with EU members.
Gul played down a row over Turkey’s refusal to recognise the Cypriot government or allow her ships and planes to enter Turkish ports and airports, saying there were legal forums to take up disputes about their customs union.
Turkey argues it will not recognise Cyprus before a comprehensive settlement to island’s political problem. They also say that since they and Turkish Cypriots accepted a UN peace plan last year to reunite the island while the Greek Cypriots rejected it, they should not now be expected to recognise the Republic of Cyprus.
Turkish leaders had earlier said they would make no more concessions to the EU and would walk away if the 25-nation bloc offered anything short of full membership.
Customs union is the precursor to accession, and Nicosia had threatened to block Turkey’s EU bid unless it is recognised prior to the start of accession talks. To varying degrees, it has the backing of a number of countries, including France, Greece, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Luxembourg. But Turkey says no such precondition had been laid out at an EU summit in Brussels last year.
EU ministers meeting at Newport, Wales, were set to draft a counter-declaration explaining the bloc’s stance on Ankara’s insistence of not recognising Cyprus as the October 3 date for entry talks loomed.
Gul and Straw discussed the wording of that declaration and of the EU negotiating mandate, a British spokesman said. The Turkish minister told reporters it would be a unilateral declaration binding only on the EU.
Diplomats said France and Cyprus sought an EU commitment to suspend negotiations if Turkey failed to open its ports and airports to shipping and planes from Cyprus by next year, but other EU countries wanted to avoid any automatic suspension.
Straw, chairing the foreign ministers’ meeting, said he was “reasonably hopeful” for the October 3 deadline. The Cyprus issue could be resolved during accession talks, he said.
On Thursday the British presidency submitted a draft for the counter-declaration featuring a number of “talking points” for discussion. But Foreign Minister George Iacovou rejected this, warning that Cyprus might be forced to block Turkey’s EU course.
The meeting in Wales yesterday failed to reach consensus on the text of the counter-declaration, although a second draft was produced. EU ambassadors are expected to finalise the text next week.
Nicosia’s initial reaction was that the second draft was an improved version of the first, but rushed to add it was not entirely satisfied.
“There have been certain amendments, but there is always room for improvement,” commented government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides.
“What is encouraging,” he went on, “is that our position is being supported by more and more EU partners.”
And speaking from Newport, Foreign Minister George Iacovou toned down Thursday’s rhetoric.
“Let me say that I am optimistic they (accession talks) will start,” said Iacovou, asked whether he shared British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s confidence that the October 3 date for talks would be met.
But he reiterated that the government was not satisfied, saying a lot of work still needed to be done on the wording of the draft text, describing as “unfortunate” some of the phrases incorporated by Britain’s presidency.
“For one thing, it speaks of Turkey’s obligation to recognise Cyprus de jure. But we believe that the signing of the protocol constitutes de facto recognition.”
“Moreover, the wording is in many places extremely vague, such as when it says calls for the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Cyprus, but does not specify any timeframe.”
“Saying relations should be normalised ‘as soon as possible’ is not good enough,” noted Iacovou.
There was also no mention of possible sanctions on Turkey for failure to meet all its obligations, he added.
EU countries anxious to avoid an automatic suspension for Turkey have proposed that the issue be reviewed again in 2006. Behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations are expected to peak ahead of next Wednesday, when COREPER (Permanent Representatives Committee) will endeavour to finalise the EU’s stance toward Turkey’s non-recognition of Cyprus.
Several EU states apart from Cyprus are wary about the prospect of heavily populated, relatively poor and mainly Muslim Turkey joining the bloc, even though accession is not expected for at least a decade. Some propose an alternative economic partnership with Ankara.
Concern about Turkish membership was blamed in part for French and Dutch voters’ rejection of the European constitution in referendums earlier this year.
Turkey’s July declaration refusing to recognise Cyprus had raised doubts about the start date for talks, with France arguing it was inconceivable for Ankara to negotiate accession when it did not recognise one of the EU’s member states.
Gul sparked new tension on Thursday by saying Ankara would not open its ports and airports to ships and planes from Cyprus, in apparent breach of the EU customs union it agreed in July to extend to new member states, including Cyprus.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said full implementation of the customs pact was “clearly a red line for the EU and is not a matter of negotiation”.
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