BRITISH FM WARNS OF “TERRIBLE” CONSEQUENCES IF TURKEY TALKS FALTER
Agence France Presse — English
September 8, 2005 Thursday 3:42 PM GMT
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned Thursday of “terrible”
repercussions for co-existence with the Muslim world if the European
Union fails to follow through on the process for admitting Turkey to
the union.
“We cannot afford to get this wrong,” Straw said in a speech in which
he argued for Turkey to begin long-awaited accession talks on October
3 despite Ankara’s refusal to recognise the government of Cyprus.
“By welcoming Turkey we will demonstrate that Western and Islamic
cultures can thrive together as partners in the modern world. The
alternative is too terrible to contemplate,” he said.
Straw stressed that Turkey had met conditions for starting accession
talks that could take several years and praised “wide-ranging and
courageous” reforms in Turkey.
But Ankara still had some way to go in implementing reforms, he added,
pointing to the charges brought against world-famous Turkish novelist
Orhan Pamuk for commenting on killings of Kurds and Armenians.
“If and when Turkey does become a member, it will be after years
of structural reforms and with a long track record of sustained and
stable growth,” Straw said.
EU leaders last December gave Turkey the green light to start
membership talks, after Ankara first applied to join the union in 1987,
even though the country still refuses to to recognise the government
of Cyprus.
But last week foreign ministers of the 25-nation bloc failed to agree
on a response to Turkey’s reiteration of non-recognition.
EU members need to agree unanimously on a reponse and a negotiating
framework for Turkey before accession talks can officially begin.
Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish military occupied the
northern third of the territory in 1974 in response to a coup by
Greek Cypriots to unite the island with Greece.
“I would have preferred it if the government of Turkey had not felt
it necessary to issue its declaration… by doing so the process has
frankly been made more difficult,” Straw said.
“Normally, you get agreement in the end,” Straw said, adding that he
would call an EU meeting to discuss Turkish accession at the end of
September if that was necessary.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin earlier opposed starting
accession talks with the Cyprus issue still unresolved and other
European politicians have expressed reservations.
German opposition leader Angela Merkel, who is favoured to win
parliamentary elections later this month, opposes Turkey’s membership
of the EU outright.
“The process of Turkish accession has turned into a lightning rod
for other discontent,” said Straw.
Turkish membership “has been the long-standing policy of successive
German governments up until now,” he continued.
In his speech, Straw emphasised the common history of Turkey and
western Europe and praised the democratic legacy of Kemal Ataturk,
who became leader of a secular Turkey after the collapse of the
Ottoman empire in World War I.
Turkish membership would help the EU compete with emerging economies
in Asia and tackle terrorism and drug trafficking, Straw said.
Membership would also encourage reforms in Turkey that have already
led to the abolition of the death penalty, progress on Kurdish issues
and moves towards European Council political standards, he said.
“Turkey will go through a major, continuing process of transformation
over a number of years before it joins the Union.”