EU president says Turkish offer not enough
07.12.2006, 17:41
EU President Finland said on Friday a Turkish offer to open one port to Cypriot ships did not go far enough and it expected the bloc to approve a partial freeze of accession talks with Ankara next week.
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"What Turkey has said is not enough...Turkey has not fulfilled its commitments," Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told reporters of a requirement that Turkey extend a customs union with the EU to all members, including Cyprus.
Vanhanen said he now expected EU countries to agree at a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday to suspend some areas of the entry talks as proposed by the
European Commission.
"The Commission proposal I believe is quite near the compromise (acceptable to member states)," he said of the EU executive's proposal for slowing Turkish accession talks by suspending eight of 35 negotiation areas, or chapters.
Vanhanen said such an outcome would leave the door open for Turkey to restart full negotiations later and should not mean a delay to its final entry, widely seen as over a decade away.
Ankara won renewed backing from Washington for its EU bid as
President Bush called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to reaffirm his support, Turkey's state Anatolian news agency said.
Finland said it was still seeking clarification of the Turkish proposal. Envoys said it had been made orally by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to Finnish counterpart Erkki Tuomioja.
The Turkish plan appeared to offer the opening of one port provisionally for a year and to state readiness to open an airport to flights from Cyprus if the EU allowed direct trade with northern Cyprus through a port and an airport.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED?
However Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, whose self-declared state is recognized only by Ankara, denied the offer was conditioned on concessions from the EU, calling it a "package to promote cooperation" during a trip to Brussels.
EU capitals remained split at talks on Friday on the number of chapters to be suspended and on whether to insist on a formal review of Turkey's progress on solving the ports dispute before restarting discussions on any frozen chapters.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Lillikas told Cyprus state radio that Nicosia would block all EU membership talks with Ankara, as it has done since September, if other members of the bloc let Turkey off the hook because of the offer.
"Nicosia will revert to a harder line if some in the
European Union attempt to use this to restrict the sanctions which should be imposed on Turkey for non-compliance," he said.
Cyprus further blocked an effort to have foreign ministers call next week for an early resumption of U.N. peace talks on the divided island.
Turkey's supporters, led by Britain, argue the Commission proposals for a partial suspension are too harsh and have seized on Ankara's latest move to urge the EU to sanction it less strongly. Sweden, Spain, Italy and Estonia were among the countries sharing the British position, diplomats said.
Others want tougher action. A diplomat said Greece, Cyprus and Austria called on Friday for a fixed date for a review of Turkey's efforts to solve the row -- something Ankara rejects. At least two others wanted a formal review with no fixed date.
Ankara has previously said it will only comply if the EU makes good on a promise to ease the economic isolation of Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus, which the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia has so far prevented.
Cyprus has been split since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by Greece.
The EU admitted the divided island as a member in 2004, represented only by the Nicosia government, which Turkey does not recognize. The Turkish Cypriot administration, by contrast, is recognized only by Turkey.