During his visit to Paris, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul promised radical reforms. He said: “The Turkey today and the Turkey at the end of the negotiation process are different.” This visit comes a few days after France’s presidential candidate hopeful Sarkozy stated that he was against Turkey joining the EU (see EurActiv, 11 September 2006 ).
Nevertheless, Gul emphasised that Turkey was not willing to open its ports to the southern Greek part of Cyprus until Greek Cypriots open their ports to Turks from the island’s north, as demanded by the EU.
The resolution of the Cyprus issue is a central stumbling block in accession talks. EU-Turkey negotiations have slowed down recently, with Commissioner Rehn stating Turkey was heading for a “train crash” with the EU over the Cyprus issue and its human rights record. The European Parliament earlier this month voted on a report that points out shortcomings in the areas of human rights and freedom of speech (see EurActiv, 7 September 2006).
The Commission is to issue its progress report on Turkey on 24 October.
