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EU Stuck In War Of Nerves On Turkey Talks

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  • EU Stuck In War Of Nerves On Turkey Talks

    EU STUCK IN WAR OF NERVES ON TURKEY TALKS
    By Mark John and Zerin Elci

    Reuters, UK
    Oct 3 2005

    LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The start of Turkey's historic accession talks
    with the European Union was in jeopardy on Monday after EU foreign
    ministers failed to overcome Austrian demands that it be offered an
    alternative to full membership.

    EU president Britain said ministers would try again for a deal on
    Monday morning but acknowledged that the planned 5 p.m. (1500 GMT)
    opening ceremony was uncertain and could well slip.

    British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said a planned review of Croatia's
    progress towards EU entry talks had been postponed and would have to
    wait until Turkey was sorted out.

    "It is a frustrating situation, but I hope and pray that we may be
    able to reach agreement," Straw told a post-midnight news conference
    after five hours of tough wrangling with Austria.

    EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn played down the threat to
    Turkey's 42-year-old entry bid, saying: "I am confident we will have
    a positive outcome and start negotiations tomorrow."

    But a Turkish official said nerves in Ankara were "extremely stretched
    ... Every minute that passes is making things more bitter and it
    won't be nice starting negotiations with all these bruises."

    With Austrian voters overwhelmingly hostile to Turkey entry, Foreign
    Minister Ursula Plassnik waged a lone battle demanding that the EU
    spell out an alternative to full membership, not only in case Turkey
    did not meet the criteria but also if the EU felt unable to absorb
    the vast, populous, poor Muslim state.

    Diplomats said the 24 other members insisted they could not make
    any change to the central principle that the shared objective of the
    negotiations would be accession.

    "Isolation and pressure is never going to work in politics. It's not
    going to work inside the European Union, certainly not. The Union
    should have and must have a different style," Plassnik told reporters
    after three tense meetings with Straw.

    Asked whether Austria was prepared to veto the start of talks, she
    said it took all 25 member states to agree.

    WALK AWAY?

    Outgoing German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned his colleagues
    that Turkey might walk away if the EU watered down the terms on offer
    any further.

    "If you want to open negotiations, you have to remember we have to
    have someone to open them with," a diplomat quoted him as telling
    the meeting.

    The EU has already irked Ankara by demanding that it recognise Cyprus
    soon and open its ports and airports to traffic from the divided
    Mediterranean island.

    The European Parliament compounded Turkish irritation last week by
    saying Turkey must recognise the 1915 killings of Armenians under
    Ottoman rule as an act of genocide before it can join the wealthy
    European family.

    Fanning Turkish anxiety, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
    cast doubt in a radio interview on whether Turkey would ever join
    the EU, saying the talks might end in an enhanced partnership instead.

    Douste-Blazy, who stayed away from Sunday's meeting and was not due
    to be present for Monday's planned start of talks, told Europe 1
    radio that Turkey was a long way from having the same values, laws
    and human rights as the European Union.

    "I think it will be very hard for Turkey because we will be asking
    a lot. We're asking it to change its laws," he said.

    Straw told reporters he did not want to contemplate the possibility
    of an Austrian veto. "Clearly that would represent a failure for the
    EU," he said before the meeting. "This is a crucial meeting for the
    future of the European Union."

    Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has made clear he will not
    fly to Luxembourg until he has seen the negotiating mandate approved
    unanimously by the EU.

    EU diplomats had hoped Austria would ease its stance after voting
    ended in regional elections in Styria province. Chancellor Wolfgang
    Schuessel's People's Party lost power there for the first time since
    1945 despite his brinkmanship on Turkey.

    Schuessel has informally linked the Turkish issue to a demand that
    the EU open accession talks immediately with Austria's largely Roman
    Catholic neighbour, Croatia.

    But those talks have been frozen until Zagreb satisfies U.N. war
    crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte that it is cooperating fully in
    the hunt for a fugitive indicted ex-general.

    In an apparent effort to increase pressure on Austria, Straw postponed
    a planned meeting with Del Ponte and the Croatian prime minister on
    Monday until there was agreement on Turkey.

    (additional reporting by Marie-Louise Moller)
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