Agency France Presse
Dec 15 2004

Geopolitics lies behind British backing for Turkey in EU

LONDON, Dec 15 (AFP) – Underpinning Britain`s staunch support for
Turkey joining the European Union is some hard geopolitical logic:
reshaping the greater Middle East region.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has consistently backed Turkey`s
long-standing bid to join Europe`s exclusive club of democratic
nations — the key issue at the EU summit this Thursday and Friday in
Brussels.

Leaders of the 25 EU member states are expected to give the green
light for Turkey to start accession talks with the European
Commission in the new year.

It could be a decade before Turkey actually joins the club, but in
the meantime, in Britain`s view, a “very powerful signal” will have
gone out to one of the world`s most unruly neighbourhoods.

“A Turkey that lives under European norms of rule of law, respected
the Charter of Fundamental Rights (in the new EU constitution), that
is fully democratic, sends a signal to all its neighbours that this
is the only way forward,” said Britain`s Europe Minister Denis
MacShane.

It would signify, he continued, that it is possible for a nation
state “to be wholly Muslim in belief and practice, but wholly secular
and democratic in the application of the rule of law and state
administration.”

“Turkey as a strong partner in NATO, a friend of Israel, strong
against terror, but nonetheless a country sensitive to the rhythms
and needs of the region, I think will be a very, very powerful
partner in Europe in the 21st century,” MacShane told a group of
European journalists in London.

That logic dovetails with Blair`s rejection of the idea that the
world is in the midst of a “clash of civilisations” between the West
and Islam in the wake of the September 11 attacks in the United
States in 2001.

It equally underpins Britain`s support for elections next month in
both Iraq and in the Palestinian territories.

“Getting stability, democracy, peace in the eastern Mediterranean
area — I don`t want to enumerate the countries — seems to be a
powerful international signal to send,” MacShane said.

Turkey`s adjoining neighbours, besides Iraq, include Syria and Iran,
as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, plus EU member state
Greece and candidate country Bulgaria.

Turkey has remained a strategic linchpin in NATO while implementing
in the past two years a raft of political and economic reforms, not
least, under EU pressure, the end of the death sentence under a
government which has Islamist roots.

“We are confident that if Turkey maintains the rhythm of reforms, in
every sphere — economic reform, domestic law reform, state
administration reform, human rights reform, respect for minorities
reform — then of course Turkey will fulfill EU criteria and can
join,” MacShane said.

Insofar as this week`s summit is concerned, MacShane said Britain
wants to see Turkey get an unequivocal nod that its accession talks
with Brussels will begin in earnest in the coming 12 months.

He dismissed press reports that Britain is offering some so-called
“Turkish delights” as concessions to help France and Germany appease
public concerns about Turkey moving into the European family.

One supposed proposal is that negotiations will not start until the
second half of 2005, when Britain holds the rotating EU presidency —
and France would have held its referendum on the EU constitution.

“What we want (at the summit) is a clear yes,” MacShane said. “We
want to start in 2005 and we would like the earliest day possible. I
know nothing about `Turkish delights` or anything else.”

di-ve, Malta
Dec 15 2004

EU parliament calls on EU leaders to open negotiations with Turkey

by di-ve news

STRASBOURG/MALTA–December 15, 2004 — 1105CET– European Parliament
called on EU leaders to open membership talks with Turkey “without
undue delay,” and urged Ankara to carry out more democratic reforms.

The European Parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, voted 407 to 262,
with 29 abstentions, to pass the resolution, which is non-binding but
nevertheless likely to influence leaders on the eve of a historic
summit in Brussels on Turkey’s membership application.

The parliament urged Turkey to meet demands for a “zero-tolerance”
approach to torture, which the legislature says is still being
carried out by authorities in Turkey.

The resolution also said the opening of negotiations would
“pre-suppose recognition by Turkey” of Cyprus, which joined the EU in
May.

The parliament also urged Turkey to acknowledge “the genocide
perpetrated against the Armenians” nearly a century ago.

Turkey has been accused of killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians
during a 1915-1923 campaign to force them from eastern Turkey. It
denies this.

The assembly rejected an amendment calling for the preparation of a
“special partnership” with Turkey as an alternative for membership, a
proposal pushed by French and German conservatives.

EurActive, Belgium
Dec 15 2004

UE – Turquie : le Parlement favorable à l’ouverture des négociations
d’adhésion

In Short:

Le Parlement européen a a voté une motion (non-contraignante)
appelant à l’ouverture de négociations d’adhésion entre la Turquie et
l’UE. Le vote était secret, ce qui a provoqué le mécontentement de
plusieurs députés.

In a historic vote, 407 out of the total of 732 MEPs said ‘yes’ on 15
December to Turkey’s projected entry into the EU, with 262 MEPs
voting against and 29 abstaining.

The vote is not binding on the leaders of the member states, who are
scheduled to decide at their summit on 16-17 December when and under
what conditions to open accession negotiations with Ankara.

Under the resolution, the EU should launch accession talks “without
undue delay”, despite the fact that problems continue to exist in
Turkey with regard to minority rights, religious freedoms, trade
union rights, women’s rights, Cyprus and the country’s relations with
Armenia. According to the MEPs, the first phase of the negotiations
should focus on the full implementation of the relevant political
criteria, and in case of serious breaches the talks should be
suspended.

The resolution underlined that the opening of the negotiations will
not automatically lead to Turkey’s accession, and stated that
membership for Turkey is conceivable only upon the approval of the
EU’s long-term budget for the period after 2014.

The resolution was passed in a secret ballot, as prescribed in Rule
162 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure. The move created a pre-vote
dispute, with the Socialists and the ALDE Group both condemning what
they considered the European Christian Democrats’ “tricky
parliamentarian games”. The Socialists’ leader, MEP Martin Schulz,
said that “at a moment like this, it is shameful to have a secret
vote”, while the ALDE Group’s leader, MEP Graham Watson, declared
that “we reject the coward’s option”.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated
his stance that “Turkey will not hesitate to say ‘no’ to the EU if
unacceptable conditions are put forward”. Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul told the Turkish daily Milliyet that his country was not
prepared to budge on keeping full membership as the ultimate aim, and
that the decision to open negotiations should not allow for
subsequent decisions or any permanent special conditions by the EU.
Furthermore, he said that Turkey must not be forced to recognise the
Republic of Cyprus.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who will host the EU
summit, said that “on the basis of the contacts that I’ve had, a
‘yes’ seems likely to come [from the summit], but we need a unanimous
decision”. The draft final statement of the summit describes the
negotiations as an “open-ended process whose outcome cannot be
guaranteed beforehand”.

Agence France Presse
Dec 15 2004

After long wait, EU decision at hand for Turkey

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (AFP) – Turkey will soon learn if its long-running
campaign to enter the European Union is reaching fruition as EU
leaders prepare to resolve one of the most divisive issues facing the
bloc.

When they convene Thursday evening for the EU’s winter summit, the 25
heads of government are expected to give the green light that Turkey
has long sought for the opening of accession negotiations.

But diplomats say the leaders will likely defer the actual start of
the talks until the autumn of 2005, and their approval will come
hedged with a raft of caveats unprecedented for an EU candidate
state.

And last-minute objections that might stymie Turkey’s hopes cannot be
ruled out. Cyprus is one obstacle.

As the price for its accord, the internationally backed Greek-Cypriot
government wants Turkey to move on normalising relations frozen since
Turkish troops occupied the Mediterranean island’s northern third in
1974.

France, though nominally on Turkey’s side, has fuelled Turkish
frustration by using the word “genocide” for the first time to
describe the 1915-1917 Ottoman Empire massacre of Armenians.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told parliament Tuesday that
Paris would ask many questions, “notably that of the Armenian
genocide”, in eventual EU-Turkey negotiations.

It is French pressure above all that is likely to result in the EU
failing to abide by a promise to launch accession talks with Turkey
“without delay” once the leaders give their approval.

Fearful of the Turkey question overshadowing a referendum on the EU’s
first constitution, the French government wants the launch of the
negotiations put back to the second half of next year.

The French government’s fears are not without foundation given that
in France, as in Germany, public opinion is largely hostile to
Turkey’s EU bid.

With an eye on winning their publics over, the EU leaders are
expected to impose a series of stringent conditions on Turkey and
warn that the accession talks will last a decade at least, with no
guarantee of success.

Turkey, which physically spans the Bosphorus divide between Europe
and Asia, has been knocking on the European bloc’s door for more than
four decades, first signing an association agreement with the
then-EEC in 1963.

Its big breakthrough came two years ago, when the EU agreed — at the
same time as agreeing to let in 10 states in the bloc’s biggest-ever
expansion — to decide in December 2004 on whether to start talks
with Turkey.

Now that moment has come, and the arguments are, if anything,
stormier than ever.

The most pro-Turkey EU states — including Britain, Italy, Spain and
Germany — argue that admitting Turkey is a strategic priority as a
bridge to the Muslim world.

But there is a hardcore of sceptics including Austria, Denmark and
Cyprus. They argue that Turkey is simply too big, too different and
too poor to join. The alternative proposed is a “special partnership”
rather than membership.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be in
Brussels for the summit, has insisted time and again that the EU must
treat Turkey like any other candidate.

He said Tuesday his government had met all the criteria required to
begin accession talks through major democratic and human rights
reforms adopted over the past two years, and now expects the EU to do
its part.

“I believe the EU will not undersign a historic mistake which will
weaken its own foundations and will make a decision in line with
Turkey’s expectations,” Erdogan said.

Macedonian Press Agency, Greece
Dec 15 2004

STATEMENT BY BEGLITIS ON THE ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION ON TURKEY
Strasbourg, 15 December 2004 (18:23 UTC+2)

Greek Euro-deputy of the main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK,
Mr. Panos Beglitis characterized the adoption by the European
Parliament of the resolution on Turkey as a significant decision for
the course of the Euro-Turkish relations and a clear message to the
European Council and Turkey.

Mr. Beglitis mentioned that the firm will for the strengthening of
Turkey’s European prospect has been confirmed, while a clear
framework of terms and obligations for Ankara has been formed.

The issues mentioned in the resolution concern the Greek minority
rights in Istanbul, Imvros and Tenedos, the Ecumenical Patriarchate
and the Theology School of Halki, the recognition of the Armenian
genocide, the diplomatic recognition of the Cypriot Republic by
Turkey and the gradual withdrawal of the occupation forces from
Cyprus.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 15 2004

STATE DUMA SPEAKER DISCUSSES ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, December 15, 2004 (RIA Novosti’s Gamlet Matevosyan) –
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Russian State Duma Speaker
Boris Gryzlov, currently in Yerevan, discussed prospects of
development of Armenian-Russian relations.

Mr. Kocharyan expressed satisfaction with the improvement of the
structure of bilateral trade turnover in 2004, the Armenian
President’s press service said.

On his part, Mr. Gryzlov stressed that the high level of
Armenian-Russian relations would let us achieve much progress in the
future.

The sides pointed out the importance of the forthcoming session of
the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission for economic
cooperation in December 2004 in Moscow. This meeting is to focus on
the enterprises Russia purchased from Armenia in compliance with the
Property for Debt interstate agreement.

According to Boris Gryzlov, the modernization and full-fledged
functioning of one of these enterprises, the Mars plant, is a top
priority. Placement of Russian orders is currently under discussion.

Moreover, the sides considered the possibilities to develop transport
communications between Armenia and Russia. At issue were railway
communications and the Kavkaz ferry complex on the Russian bank of
the Kerch Strait which separates the Crimean peninsula and the
Russian Krasnodar territory.

IranMania News, Iran
Dec 15 2004

Iran sports news in brief

LONDON, Dec 15 (IranMania)

– Farhad Kazemi, head coach of Iran’s Sepahan Club banned the players
belonging to the ethnic Armenian minority in Iran from going on
Christmas vacation. Sepahan is to represent Iran in the Asian Clubs
contests which will kick off in December.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Daily Telegraph, UK
Dec 15 2004

EU urged to begin Turkey talks
(Filed: 15/12/2004)

The European Parliament has called the EU to open membership talks
with Turkey “without undue delay,” and told Ankara to carry out more
democratic reforms.

The resolution, which was passed by MEPs in Strasbourg by a vote of
407 to 262, is not binding but is likely to influence EU leaders as
they gather in Brussels to discuss admitting Turkey.

Josep Borrell, president of the European Parliament
During the two-day European Council, which begins tomorrow, the 25 EU
leaders are expected to approve opening membership talks with Ankara
sometime next year.

MEPs called on Turkey to meet demands for a “zero-tolerance” approach
to torture, which the legislature says is still being carried out by
authorities in Turkey.

The resolution also requires Turkey to recognise Cyprus, which joined
the EU in May.

Finally, the parliament urged Turkey to acknowledge “the genocide
perpetrated against the Armenians” nearly a century ago. Ankara still
vehemently denies killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians between
1915 and 1923.

However, Josep Borrell, the president of the European Parliament said
that acknowledging the genocide of the Armenians was not a condition
of membership. “We are just recognizing certain historical events,”
he said.

MEPs rejected a bid from French and German conservatives to create a
“partnership” between the EU and Turkey as an alternative to
membership.

PolitInfo, Germany
Dec 15 2004

EU Executive, Parliament, Support Turkish Entry Talks

Brussels

The European Parliament has urged European Union leaders to open
membership talks with Turkey when they meet in Brussels Thursday and
Friday. The parliament voiced its support for the beginning of talks
just after the head of the EU’s executive body said the moment has
come for negotiations on Turkey’s membership in the 25-nation bloc to
begin.

The decision that EU leaders must make at their two-day summit this
week is whether to start entry talks with Turkey. They will not be
deciding whether to let Turkey join the Union.

But even the decision to start talks with a relatively poor,
populous, overwhelmingly Muslim country sitting on the cusp between
Europe and the Middle East has sparked a huge debate within the EU.

Doubts about whether Europe has been able to or ever can absorb its
growing Muslim population has turned many ordinary Europeans against
the idea of bringing Turkey into the EU. And many politicians are
playing to those fears in the run-up to the summit. Opposition to
Turkish membership is especially strong in Austria, France and
Germany.

Richard Howitt, a British member of the European Parliament’s
Socialist bloc, says domestic political considerations could still
thwart an EU decision to start negotiations with Turkey, despite a
recommendation by the European Commission — the EU’s executive body
— that such talks begin.

“The assessment was done. It was done by the European Commission. It
showed that political and human rights and democracy criteria, known
as the Copenhagen criteria had been met by Turkey. And it is only
political intervention, perhaps some of the countries playing to
their own electorates, that could get in the way between now and a
positive decision,” Mr. Howitt said.

Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, the commission’s president, told French
television Wednesday that EU nations should recognize Turkey’s
efforts and set a date for talks to begin next year, although he
acknowledged that Turkey is still not ready to join the bloc.
Negotiations are expected to take at least 10 years.

Analyst Kirsty Hughes, at the London School of Economics, says she
expects the EU leaders to decide in favor of starting talks with
Turkey.

“I think we’re going to get the EU leaders saying ‘yes’ to Turkey,
that it can start negotiations. That’s going to be the big decision
and the big plus. It’s going to come wrapped with some slightly more
conditional language, perhaps some slightly grudging language, but
that’s what we’re looking for on Friday,” she says.

EU diplomats are working on a compromise package that will try to
satisfy governments that oppose Turkey’s eventual membership. One
diplomat involved in putting together the statement says it will say
that the negotiations will be open-ended and that their outcome
cannot be guaranteed.

The European Parliament, in a non-binding resolution, called on EU
leaders to open negotiations with Turkey. But the legislators also
urged Turkey to recognize Cyprus and suggested Ankara acknowledge the
mass killings of ethnic Armenians from 1915 to 1923.

Turkey has always denied that such killings occurred, and it refuses
to recognize the government of Cyprus.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will say
“no” to the EU if the bloc imposes what he calls “unacceptable
conditions” on starting negotiations.

EU diplomats say the Armenian issue will not be used as a
pre-condition for Turkish entry talks. But they say that the bloc’s
leaders will urge Turkey to sign a protocol extending its customs
union with the EU to the 10 members that joined this year, one of
which is Cyprus. That, they say, would signal a de-facto recognition
of Cyprus.

EurasiaNet Organization
Dec 15 2004

TURKEY APPLIES LAST-MINUTE PRESSURE FOR EU “YES” DECISION
Mevlut Katik 12/15/04

On the eve of a crucial summit that may determine the outcome of
Turkey’s 41-year campaign for European Union membership, Brussels has
mulled fresh conditions for Ankara to meet before accession talks
could begin. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayipp Erdogan was sharply
critical of proposed new criteria, cautioning the EU that it would be
making a “historic mistake” if it rebuffed Turkey’s membership bid.

Among the most sensitive draft conditions reportedly under
consideration by the EU’s Dutch presidency is a stipulation that
Turkey recognize 10 countries — including Cyprus, which joined the
EU in May — as members of the bloc before membership talks can
begin. Such a move would amount to de facto recognition of Cyprus
itself – a difficult demand for Ankara to meet given its own support
of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the
island.

In a statement to the Turkish parliament on December 14, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul rejected recognition of Cyprus in any form
while a peace deal for the island, divided between Turkish and Greek
Cypriots since 1973, remains unsigned. “Turkey will not take any
steps which would mean recognizing [Cyprus] directly or indirectly,”
Gul said.

What that will mean for Turkey’s membership bid remains unclear, but
already a lobbying campaign is underway to block the imposition of
fresh EU conditions. Also in Ankara’s sights: a suggestion for a
so-called “privileged membership” as a fallback in case accession
talks with Ankara fail. Removal of permanent caps on the free
movement of Turkish workers within the EU is another goal.

Turkish and international media have reported Erdogan as telling EU
envoys that Ankara will reject the EU if it offers membership with
strings attached. “We have said on several occasions that we will not
accept a decision that is not based on a perspective of full
membership and which offers special status,” Erdogan told members of
his Justice and Development Party on December 14. “I believe the EU
will not undersign a historic mistake which will weaken its own
foundations and will make a decision in line with Turkey’s
expectations.”

Erdogan and Gul are scheduled to fly to Brussels on Wednesday for
last-minute talks with EU leaders ahead of the summit, which is
scheduled to begin December 16. A final decision on Turkey’s
membership bid – widely expected to be affirmative – should be made
public the next day.

Obstacles beyond the criteria under consideration by the EU
presidency could hamper Turkey’s accession efforts. Critics within
the EU believe that attempting to integrate a Muslim majority country
such as Turkey with a relatively poor population of 70 million could
cause excessive turmoil. Of particular concern is what low-cost
Turkish workers would mean for the EU’s moribund labor markets.

France has been perhaps the most outspoken opponent of EU membership
for Turkey. As part of Turkey’s membership negotiations, the French
government has announced that it might consider questioning Turkey
about the Ottoman Empire’s 1915-1917 mass killing of roughly 1.5
million Armenians. In announcing French intentions on December 14,
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier described the Ottoman action as
“genocide,” a controversial term likely to further spark Erdogan’s
ire. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
French President Jacques Chirac planned to make a televised address
on December 15 to explain his support for Turkey’s accession, but has
promised that France would hold a national referendum on the issue
once membership talks with Ankara were completed. Meanwhile, Austria
has proposed that EU leaders make clear to Turkey that membership
talks will not have a guaranteed outcome.

Ankara is already smarting from a series of conditions attached to an
EU progress report on Turkey’s membership bid, released October 6.
[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In its report, the
European Commission said it needed more proof of Turkey’s commitment
to reforms before it could wholeheartedly endorse Ankara’s accession
to the bloc. A monitoring system was also proposed to track Turkey’s
progress in ongoing legal and human rights reforms as a condition for
membership talks. In the past five years, Turkey has already
undergone a series of fast-track reforms to bring its legal code,
minority policies and political institutions in line with European
standards.

Returning from a trip to Brussels on December 10, Erdogan reasserted
the claim that the EU is discriminating against Turkey. “No other
country had to wait 41 years at the door of the EU. We have fulfilled
all the criteria, but despite this Europeans are hesitating.”

Turkey has made full membership in the EU a main foreign policy goal
since it signed an association agreement, known as the Ankara
Agreement, with the bloc in 1963. A customs union agreement followed
33 years later, and in 1999, Turkey was declared an official
candidate for EU membership and asked to fulfill a set of criteria,
known as the Copenhagen Criteria, to bring the country in line with
EU political norms. The European Commission’s progress report paved
the way for the final decision on Turkey’s membership bid at this
week’s summit. Even if accession talks begin, however, full EU
membership could take another decade, making Turkey’s EU campaign a
half-century journey.

Meanwhile, in response to the conditions sought by Brussels, Turkey
has set down its own criteria. Erdogan has stated that Ankara expects
full membership talks without additional conditions to come out of
the December 16-17 summit. A concrete date for talks to begin in 2005
is also anticipated. Some Turkish media had reported that the EU may
decide instead to hold an intergovernmental conference in the second
half of 2005 to decide on a start date for talks to begin after an
initial, six-month monitoring process.

Erdogan has rejected any additional political conditions not already
included in the Copenhagen criteria, and argued that placing
permanent limitations on Turkish workers would be against EU law. The
notion of “privileged partnership” – a concept reportedly conceived
by France and Austria – was rejected “as a status that does not exist
in the EU.”

Nor has Erdogan hesitated at raising the possibility of terrorism as
part of his pre-summit pressure campaign. If Turkey is not invited to
join the EU, he warned the audience at the opening of Istanbul’s
Modern Art Museum on December 10, violence from Islamic terrorists
could escalate. “There is nothing we can do if the EU feels that it
can live with being simply a Christian club,” Erdogan was quoted as
saying by The Times of London, “but if these countries burn their
bridges with the rest of the world, history will not forgive them.”

Editor’s Note: Mevlut Katik is a London-based journalist and analyst.
He is a former BBC correspondent and also worked for The Economist
group.