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ANKARA: Depending on the Intentions: On Turkey's EU Membership Bid

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  • ANKARA: Depending on the Intentions: On Turkey's EU Membership Bid

    Sabah (Turkey) via BYEGM, 18 March 2005
    March 18 2005


    Depending on the Intentions: On Turkey's EU Membership Bid
    by Erdal Safak

    Columnist Erdal Safak comments on Turkey's European Union membership
    bid. A summary of his column is as follows:


    `Turkey is now concerned over its European Union membership talks
    since Brussels decided to postpone entry talks with Croatia due to
    its failure to arrest a top war crimes suspect. `Will this decision
    be a precedent for other candidate countries?' our diplomats are now
    asking. According to our Foreign Ministry, the issue has nothing to
    do with Turkey's membership talks.


    However, the international community has interpreted the decision as
    a powerful signal to other would-be EU members that they must fully
    respect human rights. For example, French Foreign Minister Michel
    Barnier said that the EU's decision is a precedent for Turkey,
    proving that Brussels would never give any ground on human rights. In
    addition, Joost Lagendijk, the co-president of the Turkey-EU Joint
    Parliamentary Commission, stated that Turkey must take the decision
    to heart. `On Oct. 3, Brussels will examine the list of conditions
    that it stipulated had to be completed by that date,' he added. `If
    Ankara fails to fulfill even one of them, Brussels can decide to
    postpone the country's accession talks, as in the case of Croatia.'


    The final statement of last December's Brussels summit covered
    Croatia in three paragraphs. In the first, Brussels praised the
    country's preparations for EU membership. In the second, Brussels
    urged Zagreb to surrender a Croatian former general to the UN war
    crimes tribunal for trial. The last paragraph underlines that this is
    the only precondition to start the nation's accession talks.

    What about the paragraphs on Turkey? There are seven articles on our
    country, from which there seem to be two preconditions: First, the
    amendment of the Ankara Agreement in line with the EU's current
    members. In other words, Ankara must recognize the Greek Cypriot
    administration. Second, six laws must be approved by the Parliament
    by Oct. 3.


    However, there are also certain sentences that could be interpreted
    as preconditions as well, depending on the intentions of the reader.
    For example, Brussels will closely monitor both Turkey's reform
    process to ensure the protection of human rights and basic freedoms,
    and Ankara's progress on political reforms in line with the Accession
    Partnership Document.


    Moreover, the statement also stressed that Brussels noted the earlier
    European Parliament decision on Turkey, which lists a number of
    preconditions for Turkey's membership talks such as Ankara's official
    recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide, opening the Armenian
    border, reopening the Heybeliada Seminary and ending compulsory
    religion courses in schools. If the EU leaders said that they noted
    this EP decision, should we see these as further preconditions or
    not? As I said, everything hinges on the intentions. If Brussels has
    good intentions towards Ankara, the only problem we'll have is the
    Customs Union. However, if the EU leaders decide to see the summit
    statement through another, wider-angle lens, then everything will
    grow much more complicated...'


    Source: Sabah via BYEGM, 18 March 2005
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