 Turkey's chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış. DHA photo. |
Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator and foreign and justice ministers dispelled negative assessments regarding the current state of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations Tuesday, reaffirming the government’s commitment to reform and full membership, despite ongoing political obstacles.
Diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that speakers at a Tuesday panel in Ankara regarding Turkish-EU talks do not see Turkey’s position in the negotiations as having progressed very far. “The problems facing Turkish negotiations were discussed. It was agreed that the current picture is not worse than it was at the 1997 Luxembourg summit,” they reported.
The panel, hosted by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in order to mark the fifth year of formal EU accession negotiations, was convened as part of a conference bringing together Turkish ambassadors from all over the world. The panel was also attended by Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış.
The Turkish-EU relationship received a setback at the 1997 summit when then-Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz openly challenged the bloc after member states rejected Turkey’s application to become a candidate country and overtly stated that Turkey would never be permitted to join. In 1999, Turkey was granted official candidacy status.
Turkey formally launched accession negotiations in October 2005, but the talks have come to a near standstill due to the unresolved Cyprus dispute and the stiff opposition some EU member states have toward Turkish accession.
Ankara has opened just 13 out of 35 accession chapters, which all EU candidate nations must successfully negotiate prior to membership. Turkey was unable to open any new chapters during Belgium’s recent term as president in the EU’s rotating leadership.
While addressing the panel, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu emphasized that Turkey’s objective was full EU membership and the government would never bow to the proposal of a privileged partnership instead, as is often suggested by some member states – notably Germany.
The three ministers outlined how they saw the future of Turkish-EU relations, saying the Turkish public remained willing to join the EU but negative messages from some EU member states have caused a decline in the public’s conviction that Ankara will one day be able to join the bloc, according to sources.
The ministers also reportedly discussed the government’s EU communication strategy, but diplomatic sources were unable to provide further details.
EU candidate Croatia, which began accession talks at the same time as Turkey in October 2005, hopes to have completed negotiations by the first half of 2011, during Hungary’s EU term presidency, and to have joined the bloc by 2012.
Turkish diplomats told the Daily News they thought the EU’s approaches toward Ankara and Zagreb were different. In the case of Croatia’s accession the EU played an encouraging and supporting role while Turkey was left alone and subjected to additional obstacles without receiving any help from the EU, they said.
In his address to the panel, Bağış said 18 of the 35 negotiation chapters were blocked because of political reasons. “The blockade of more than half of the chapters is a first in the history of EU enlargement. However, our basic goal is not opening or closing chapters or the number of opened or closed chapters but raising the standard of living in Turkey,” he said.
“The EU membership process is an additional driving force helping us achieve this goal and a motivating phenomenon that cannot be underestimated.”
Diplomatic sources told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that speakers at a Tuesday panel in Ankara regarding Turkish-EU talks do not see Turkey’s position in the negotiations as having progressed very far. “The problems facing Turkish negotiations were discussed. It was agreed that the current picture is not worse than it was at the 1997 Luxembourg summit,” they reported.
The panel, hosted by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in order to mark the fifth year of formal EU accession negotiations, was convened as part of a conference bringing together Turkish ambassadors from all over the world. The panel was also attended by Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış.
The Turkish-EU relationship received a setback at the 1997 summit when then-Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz openly challenged the bloc after member states rejected Turkey’s application to become a candidate country and overtly stated that Turkey would never be permitted to join. In 1999, Turkey was granted official candidacy status.
Turkey formally launched accession negotiations in October 2005, but the talks have come to a near standstill due to the unresolved Cyprus dispute and the stiff opposition some EU member states have toward Turkish accession.
Ankara has opened just 13 out of 35 accession chapters, which all EU candidate nations must successfully negotiate prior to membership. Turkey was unable to open any new chapters during Belgium’s recent term as president in the EU’s rotating leadership.
While addressing the panel, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu emphasized that Turkey’s objective was full EU membership and the government would never bow to the proposal of a privileged partnership instead, as is often suggested by some member states – notably Germany.
The three ministers outlined how they saw the future of Turkish-EU relations, saying the Turkish public remained willing to join the EU but negative messages from some EU member states have caused a decline in the public’s conviction that Ankara will one day be able to join the bloc, according to sources.
The ministers also reportedly discussed the government’s EU communication strategy, but diplomatic sources were unable to provide further details.
EU candidate Croatia, which began accession talks at the same time as Turkey in October 2005, hopes to have completed negotiations by the first half of 2011, during Hungary’s EU term presidency, and to have joined the bloc by 2012.
Turkish diplomats told the Daily News they thought the EU’s approaches toward Ankara and Zagreb were different. In the case of Croatia’s accession the EU played an encouraging and supporting role while Turkey was left alone and subjected to additional obstacles without receiving any help from the EU, they said.
In his address to the panel, Bağış said 18 of the 35 negotiation chapters were blocked because of political reasons. “The blockade of more than half of the chapters is a first in the history of EU enlargement. However, our basic goal is not opening or closing chapters or the number of opened or closed chapters but raising the standard of living in Turkey,” he said.
“The EU membership process is an additional driving force helping us achieve this goal and a motivating phenomenon that cannot be underestimated.”
No comments:
Post a Comment