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THE INDEPENDENT: TURKISH 'PRIZE SLIPPING AWAY' FROM EU
The New Anatolian
Oct 18 2006
Turkey is a "prize slipping away" from the hands of the European
Union because of the deadlock over the Cyprus issue and the French
Parliament's passage of the Armenian bill, warned British daily The
Independent yesterday.
The newspaper, in its leading editorial on Tuesday, said, "Turkey's
bid to enter the EU received a double blow last week. First came the
parking of talks on Ankara's membership after objections by Greece and
[Greek] Cyprus.
And then there was the vote by the French Assembly to outlaw the
denial of the Armenian 'genocide'." The paper added that EU foreign
ministers met on Monday with their Turkish counterpart to repair some
of the damage.
Stressing that the real diplomatic crunch will come next month when a
report is due from the EU's enlargement minister on Turkey's progress
in implementing reforms since membership talks began a year ago, The
Independent stated that if the report criticizes Ankara's refusal to
open Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot ships and planes, as expected, EU
leaders at their next summit may decide to freeze entry negotiations
entirely. "Once frozen, they would be very hard to re-start," the
newspaper warned.
Citing the presence of a general pessimism about the EU enlargement
process, The Independent commented that the remarks by European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso over the weekend are
a reflection of the pessimism about Turkey's chances to join the
25-nation bloc. The newspaper stated that although previous statements
had indicated that Turkey's membership talks could last 15 years,
Barroso in his latest remarks predicted that the process would take
20 years.
Concerning the French Parliament's passage of a bill introducing
prison terms and fines to those who question the Armenian genocide
claims, the newspaper commented that although French President Jacques
Chirac apologized to Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the incident and
said the French government is opposed to the law, the newspaper said,
"However, together with this move the damage has already been done."
Underlining that the French Parliament's decision served the interests
of nationalist circles in Turkey who oppose the country's membership
in the Union, the newspaper also stated that Turkish supporters of
EU membership are having a hard time defending the self-sacrifices
for accession.
Describing Turkey as a "prize slipping away," the daily said,
"Whereas the membership of this Muslim country would be an ideological
success for Europe. In this way, values like human rights, freedom
of _expression and a liberal economy will be strengthened in a land
bordering the Middle East.
However, in case of failure to continue political relations between
Turkey and Europe, none of those will materialize."
The New Anatolian
Oct 18 2006
Turkey is a "prize slipping away" from the hands of the European
Union because of the deadlock over the Cyprus issue and the French
Parliament's passage of the Armenian bill, warned British daily The
Independent yesterday.
The newspaper, in its leading editorial on Tuesday, said, "Turkey's
bid to enter the EU received a double blow last week. First came the
parking of talks on Ankara's membership after objections by Greece and
[Greek] Cyprus.
And then there was the vote by the French Assembly to outlaw the
denial of the Armenian 'genocide'." The paper added that EU foreign
ministers met on Monday with their Turkish counterpart to repair some
of the damage.
Stressing that the real diplomatic crunch will come next month when a
report is due from the EU's enlargement minister on Turkey's progress
in implementing reforms since membership talks began a year ago, The
Independent stated that if the report criticizes Ankara's refusal to
open Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot ships and planes, as expected, EU
leaders at their next summit may decide to freeze entry negotiations
entirely. "Once frozen, they would be very hard to re-start," the
newspaper warned.
Citing the presence of a general pessimism about the EU enlargement
process, The Independent commented that the remarks by European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso over the weekend are
a reflection of the pessimism about Turkey's chances to join the
25-nation bloc. The newspaper stated that although previous statements
had indicated that Turkey's membership talks could last 15 years,
Barroso in his latest remarks predicted that the process would take
20 years.
Concerning the French Parliament's passage of a bill introducing
prison terms and fines to those who question the Armenian genocide
claims, the newspaper commented that although French President Jacques
Chirac apologized to Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the incident and
said the French government is opposed to the law, the newspaper said,
"However, together with this move the damage has already been done."
Underlining that the French Parliament's decision served the interests
of nationalist circles in Turkey who oppose the country's membership
in the Union, the newspaper also stated that Turkish supporters of
EU membership are having a hard time defending the self-sacrifices
for accession.
Describing Turkey as a "prize slipping away," the daily said,
"Whereas the membership of this Muslim country would be an ideological
success for Europe. In this way, values like human rights, freedom
of _expression and a liberal economy will be strengthened in a land
bordering the Middle East.
However, in case of failure to continue political relations between
Turkey and Europe, none of those will materialize."