EU resolves stand-off with Cyprus on Turkish EU bid
Turkey was set to conclude the first round of membership negotiations with the European Union today, after EU foreign ministers resolved a stand-off with Cyprus over Ankara’s relationship with the divided island.
The EU agreed to Nicosia’s demand that Ankara be reminded of its obligation to normalise relations with the country’s Greek Cypriot government, while Nicosia agreed to drop its objections to completing science and research discussions in one day, paving the way for the first of 35 rounds of talks to take place.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul travelled to Luxembourg for the talks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said – an indication that Gul accepted the EU’s compromise.
“The first chapter with Turkey was not an easy matter. We’ve made a start, it’s the first step along a path where every step will have to be approved by every EU member,” said Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.
The science issues – seen as straightforward and uncontroversial – are the first of 35 chapters that Turkey must complete negotiations on before it can join the EU. The process is expected to last at least a decade.
But the Cypriots had insisted that before talks could start, the EU had to remind Ankara of its obligations to extend its customs union to include Cyprus and nine other member states that joined the bloc in 2004.
Although Turkey signed an agreement in July last year extending its customs union to include the EU’s 10 newest members, it has not implemented the deal. To do so would require Turkey to allow Greek Cypriot ships and planes to use its ports and airports, which it refuses to do until a crippling international embargo on the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state is lifted.
Cyprus also had insisted that the science talks are not closed in just one day, saying that a swift conclusion to the first chapter would indicate Turkey’s progress toward joining the EU was free of problems.
Nicosia eventually agreed to wording in a document handed to Turkey stating the EU’s common position on the talks.
“Failure (by Turkey) to implement its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations,” the document states, stressing the closing of the first chapter is provisional.
“This wording satisfied our requirements,” said Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou. “Turkey must fulfil every single requirement. There is no way out.”
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said today’s wrangle proved to Turkey EU enlargement is “no bullet train, no Eurostar,” referring to the high-speed train linking London to Brussels and Paris.
Earlier this year, Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schuessel said the EU would push Ankara to implement the customs union by December. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated today that Turkey would not open up its ports and airport to Cyprus until the international economic embargo on Turkish Cypriots is lifted.
Cyprus has been split into an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish-occupied north since a 1974 Turkish invasion sparked by a coup in favour of union with Greece.
Ankara does not recognise the Greek Cypriot-led government in Nicosia, but supports the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.
Cyprus has little to lose since it joined the EU, and appears to be willing to increase pressure on Turkey. A UN peace plan to reunify the island was rejected by Greek Cypriots but supported by the Turkish north.
