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Turkey 'faces toughest test' for EU entry
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels and Vincent Boland in Ankara
FT
June 30 2005 03:00
Turkey will face the toughest test ever presented to a candidate for
entry to the European Union and might have to settle for less than
full membership, the European Commission said yesterday.
Setting out the Commissions's proposals for negotiations with Ankara,
Olli Rehn, enlargement Commissioner, said Turkey would face the "most
rigorous" test of any EU candidate to date, while several of his
colleagues called for a "privileged partnership" instead of membership.
"It certainly will be a long and difficult journey, but the journey
is as important as the destination," Mr Rehn said, emphasising the
reforms Turkey would need to carry out during the talks.
He highlighted problems over Turkey's relations with its neighbours -
such as Cyprus and Armenia - and continuing obstacles over economic
issues, such as the pharmaceutical trade and intellectual property
rights.
"It's a fact of life that privileged partnership will be part of the
political debate in the months and years to come," he added.
Under the Commission proposals, which will have to be backed by all
25 EU member states if talks are to begin on schedule on October 3,
Turkey will have to implement reforms rather than just promise changes.
Discussion of the proposals took place in an atmosphere shaped by
the recent French and Dutch No votes to the European constitution,
in which concerns about Turkish entry played a big part. In addition,
German elections expected for September could result in a victory
for the Christian Democrats, who are opposed to Turkish membership.
The Commissioners who expressed reservations yesterday about the
proposals included Charlie McCreevy of Ireland, Benita Ferrero-Waldner
of Austria, Viviane Reding of Luxembourg and Markos Kyprianou of
Cyprus. Jacques Barrot of France also opposes Turkish membership. In
the end, the text re-stated the EU's position that the talks were
"open-ended" rather than explicitly discussing privileged partnership,
but it strengthened the emphasis on limits of the EU's capacity to
absorb new members.
Countries such as Austria and Cyprus are likely to want to make changes
to the document. "Once the [EU] member states get their hands on the
text, it's bound to get worse," said a diplomat from an EU country
friendly towards Turkey.
Austria is likely to want to expand on the idea of privileged
partnership, and Cyprus to intensify calls for Turkey to recognise
it diplomatically. However, the forthcoming British presidency of
the EU will want to keep such demands vague.
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels and Vincent Boland in Ankara
FT
June 30 2005 03:00
Turkey will face the toughest test ever presented to a candidate for
entry to the European Union and might have to settle for less than
full membership, the European Commission said yesterday.
Setting out the Commissions's proposals for negotiations with Ankara,
Olli Rehn, enlargement Commissioner, said Turkey would face the "most
rigorous" test of any EU candidate to date, while several of his
colleagues called for a "privileged partnership" instead of membership.
"It certainly will be a long and difficult journey, but the journey
is as important as the destination," Mr Rehn said, emphasising the
reforms Turkey would need to carry out during the talks.
He highlighted problems over Turkey's relations with its neighbours -
such as Cyprus and Armenia - and continuing obstacles over economic
issues, such as the pharmaceutical trade and intellectual property
rights.
"It's a fact of life that privileged partnership will be part of the
political debate in the months and years to come," he added.
Under the Commission proposals, which will have to be backed by all
25 EU member states if talks are to begin on schedule on October 3,
Turkey will have to implement reforms rather than just promise changes.
Discussion of the proposals took place in an atmosphere shaped by
the recent French and Dutch No votes to the European constitution,
in which concerns about Turkish entry played a big part. In addition,
German elections expected for September could result in a victory
for the Christian Democrats, who are opposed to Turkish membership.
The Commissioners who expressed reservations yesterday about the
proposals included Charlie McCreevy of Ireland, Benita Ferrero-Waldner
of Austria, Viviane Reding of Luxembourg and Markos Kyprianou of
Cyprus. Jacques Barrot of France also opposes Turkish membership. In
the end, the text re-stated the EU's position that the talks were
"open-ended" rather than explicitly discussing privileged partnership,
but it strengthened the emphasis on limits of the EU's capacity to
absorb new members.
Countries such as Austria and Cyprus are likely to want to make changes
to the document. "Once the [EU] member states get their hands on the
text, it's bound to get worse," said a diplomat from an EU country
friendly towards Turkey.
Austria is likely to want to expand on the idea of privileged
partnership, and Cyprus to intensify calls for Turkey to recognise
it diplomatically. However, the forthcoming British presidency of
the EU will want to keep such demands vague.