International

TURKEY SAYS IT'S ALL OR NOTHING ON EU PROPOSAL
By Nicholas Watt

** Ankara angered by Merkel's partnership plan **

Guardian (UK)
September 3, 2005

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1561795,00.html

Turkey yesterday threatened to abandon "for good" its 40-year dream of joining the European Union if it is offered anything less than full membership.

As the EU paved the way for negotiations to open on October 3, the Turkish foreign minister pledged to walk away if a proposal to downgrade its membership is on the table.

Abdullah Gul told the Economist: "Should [the EU] place anything short of full membership, or any new conditions, we will walk away. And this time it will be for good."

His remarks were reinforced by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, who accused "a few countries" of exploiting Turkey's proposed EU membership for domestic political reasons. "Let's stop playing to the gallery and try to get a result," he said in Naples.

The assault was aimed mainly at Angela Merkel, Germany's center-right leader, who is expected to be elected chancellor this month. She believes a "privileged partnership" for Turkey should be tabled when negotiations open in Luxembourg.

Turkey was upset by the proposal from Ms. Merkel because it would turn the talks on their head. The negotiations are meant to lead to full membership -- something akin to the Merkel proposal is only due to appear if the talks fail after 10 years.

Ankara fears that Ms. Merkel's expected German election success -- and the rejection of the EU constitution by French and Dutch voters, who registered strong opposition to Turkey -- have hardened attitudes. The French president, Jacques Chirac, who is still officially in favor of Turkish membership, has turned on Ankara in recent weeks as he responds to French voters.

The doubts about Turkey were voiced at a meeting of European foreign ministers yesterday in Wales. The ministers gave the green light to the formal start of membership talks, but only after France and Cyprus criticised Turkey's conduct when it cleared the final hurdle to membership talks -- signing a customs union with all 25 EU members.

France and Cyprus were angered because Turkey attached a declaration which said it would not recognize the Greek Cypriot government. It also pledged to keep its ports and airports closed to Cypriot ships and planes.

Mr. Chirac, who accused the Turks of not acting "in the spirit" of the EU, instructed his ministers to allow the talks to go ahead if Turkey agreed to recognize Cyprus in the future and if the ports and airports were reviewed.

Britain, which is chairing the talks as EU president, is likely to produce a paper which will commit Turkey to recognizing Cyprus as part of a settlement on the island.

Turkey is likely to sign up to this because Britain insists that it does not need to recognize Cyprus in the near future. Ankara believes that the EU and the Greek Cypriot government are in no position to lecture it after Turkey accepted a U.N. peace plan last year.

The Turkish north voted yes in a referendum but the Greek south voted no, scuppering plans to unite the island before the Greek Cypriots joined the EU.

This prompted Mr. Erdogan to declare that Ankara had complied with every EU demand. "Now Turkey has nothing more to give the EU" he said. "We have done everything related to the Copenhagen political criteria."

The Copenhagen criteria call on all countries hoping to join the EU to respect basic political freedoms. In December last year European leaders called on Turkey to carry out two specific measures -- sign up for the customs union and introduce human rights legislation.

Both of these have been achieved but doubts still remain, not least after Mr. Erdogan tried to criminalize adultery. This was withdrawn after protests from Europe.