Final Positions of Key Member States
Zaman
12.17.2004 Friday
Leaders of European Union (EU) member states decide on Turkeyâ~@~Ys
negotiation process today. The bargaining process continued into the
night yesterday and will expectedly continue up to the last minute.
These are the attitudes of certain countries that have been influential
in shaping the decision on Turkey:
Great Britain: One of the three hegemonic powers in the EU, Great
Britain has been the biggest and most stable supporter of Turkey
within the EU. British Prime Minister Tony Blair himself as lobbied to
begin negotiations with Turkey without delay. London put on pressure
during the Copenhagen Summit in 2002; but Germany and France ended up
rejecting it. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip praised the British
support for Turkey in a speech in Brussels yesterday and qualified
London as the European capital that understands Turkeyâ~@~Ys concerns.
European Christian Democrats perceive British support as a deviation
from the EUâ~@~Ys federal goals. Londonâ~@~Ys strong support for Turkey
is interpreted as by opponents as an indication that the US hand is
wandering into Europe again. Britain strongly objects to the inclusion
of permanent restrictions in the resolution draft and emphasizes that
permanent restrictions would mean second class membership.
Germany: Social Democrats and the Green coalition in Germany
strongly support Turkeyâ~@~Ys EU membership. German Chancellor
Gerhard Schröeder changed Germanyâ~@~Y s policy on Turkey when he
came into power and has provided Turkey with strong support. Berlin
is putting on pressure at the summit for a goal of full membership and
abstinence from any mention of privileged partnership. The support of
a nation that meets one fourth of the EU budget is very significant.
Christian Democrats in France and Germany, one of the EUâ~@~Ys
founding states, have announced that they will do whatever they can
to block Turkeyâ~@~Ys membership if they win the 2006 elections even
if negotiations have already begun. Germanyâ~@~Ys right wing parties
claim that Schröederâ~@~Ys support for Turkey is based on his desire
for the 800,000 Turkish votes in Germany. The government insists that
Turkey â~@~Ys membership is of vital importance to 21st century Europe.
France: Mixed signals are still coming out of France, one of the most
important members of the EU, next to Germany. Despite French President
Jacques Chiracâ~@~Y s open support for Turkey in a televised speech the
other day, Paris still wants an alternative like privileged partnership
for Turkey to be included in the final summit resolution. Paris
urges that a formula be included that ensures the â~@~strongest
possible relations should be established with Ankara in case of a
failure of the negotiations.â~@~] Ankara harshly rejects this demand.
Despite Chiracâ~@~Ys support, his own party is strongly opposed to
Turkeyâ~@~Ys membership.
Although the EU promised at the 2002 Copenhagen Summit that â~@~if
the Progress Report is affirmative, negotiations will start without
delay,â~@~] it is trying to set a date of October or November,
2005 at Franceâ~@~Ys insistence. Chirac thinks that the issue of
negotiation with Turkey will negatively affect the referendum for
the EU Constitution. Thatâ~@~Ys why he wants the negotiations
with Ankara to be left until after the referendum on the EU
Constitution. Moreover, Paris was annoyed that Turkey declared it will
take the so-called Armenian genocide allegations to the table during
the negotiations. France is insistent on the adoption of permanent
restrictions on areas like free movement and common agricultural policy
(CAP), even if Turkey becomes a member. UMP President Nicolas Sarkozy,
who will run as a candidate in the 2007 presidential elections,
criticizes Chirac for his support of Turkey. France was the first
country to declare that it would hold a referendum on Turkeyâ~@~Ys
membership bid in the final phase of the negotiations.
The Netherlands: Mixed signals are also coming from the Netherlands,
the EUâ~@~Ys Term President and the most liberal and tolerant country
in Europe. Although Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende supports
the opening of negotiations with Turkey, he is trying to find the
right balance among the members. Balkenende said in a meeting with
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in Brussels last week: â~@~ As the
game goes on, the rules cannot be changedâ~@~] in a reference to
Erdoganâ~@~Ys earlier remarks. Balkenende has clearly rejected the
proposal by German Christian Democrats leader Angela Merkel that
Turkey be granted â~@~privileged partnership,â~@~] but the killing of
Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh hurt the Netherlandsâ~@~Y multi-cultural
texture which was appreciated worldwide. The Van Gogh murder decreased
public support for Turkey. One of the former members of the EU
Commission, Frits Bolkenstein is the only commissioner objecting
to Turkeyâ~@~Ys membership. Bolkenstein claimed that Turkeyâ~@~Ys
membership would Islamicize Europe and make the â~@~1683 Vienna
Victoryâ~@~] meaningless.
Italy: Italy is one of the five largest countries to continuously
defend Turkey. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and
Britainâ~@~Ys Prime Minister Tony Blair had supported that negotiations
be started at the 2002 Copenhagen Summit. However, the Northern League,
one of the partners in Berlusconiâ~@~Ys government coalition, wants
Turkeyâ~@~Ys membership bid to go to a referendum. Rome, which will
not be taking the EU Constitution to a referendum, is not expected
to hold a referendum on Turkey either.
Austria: Vienna was surrounded twice by the Turks in 1536 and 1683
and is the EU member that most severely objects to negotiations
with Turkey. Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schussel steadily
requests that a privileged partnership be given to Turkey instead
of membership. Austria insists on permanent restrictions and says
Turkeyâ~@~Ys membership will turn the EU into an economic union.
Greece: After hindering Turkeyâ~@~Ys EU adventure for many years,
Athens has been supporting Turkey since 1999. By insisting that
recognition of Greek Cyprus is a provision, Athens sends the message
to Greeks that they should blow up the process.
Greek Cypriot Administration: Although the Greeks were granted EU
membership despite voting â~@~noâ~@~] on the Annan Plan in the April
24th referendum, they have continued to threaten to use their veto
power right up to the last hours. Greek leader Tasos Papadopulos
claims that if Turkey does not recognize them diplomatically, they
will veto the start of negotiations. If Ankara gets what it wants at
the summit, including Greek Cypriots in the 1963 Ankara Convention
including could be a declaration of interest that embraces new ten
countries. Turkey has said several times that it is unacceptable to
recognize the Greek administration officially until the problem on
the island is solved.
12.17.2004 S. Gultasli, A. Ihsan Aydin, Basri Dogan Brussels
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