Bitl rend une « visite de la dernière chance » en Turquie et en Macédoine [en]
Carl Bilt, le ministre des Affaires étrangères suédois connu pour son franc-parler, a fait un dernier effort dans le cadre de la présidence de l’UE de son pays pour désamorcer le blocage des discussions sur l’adhésion de la Turquie, et pour lever les obstacles à l’ouverture des négociations d’adhésion avec la Macédoine.
Background
Turkey's relations with the European Economic Community (EEC) date back to 1959. But it took many years, until the Helsinki European Council of December 1999, for the country to obtain the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
The EU opened accession talks with Turkey in October 2005, but a number of stumbling blocks are holding up Ankara's progress, in particular concerning Turkey's relations with Cyprus, human and minority rights and freedom of expression (see EurActiv Links Dossier on 'Turkey accession and Cyprus').
In April 2008, Athens vetoed Macedonia's invitation to join NATO, arguing that the name 'Macedonia' could lead Skopje to make territorial claims over Greece's own northern province of the same name (EurActiv 04/04/08).
As a result of this situation, Macedonia still finds itself unable to start accession talks with the EU, despite the fact that it received the status of candidate country as early as December 2005. In official EU papers, Macedonia does not even appear under this name: it is referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)".
In its recently-published enlargement strategy, the European Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with FYROM (EurActiv 15/10/09).
Bildt, who until recently was seen by many as a strong candidate for the post of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, is preparing the ground for a critical EU foreign affairs meeting on 7 December.
EU ministers are expected to decide on the future of Turkey's EU negotiations, which are blocked over Turkey's refusal to open its ports and airports to Cyprus, as well as on opening accession negotiations with Macedonia.
Although the landlocked Balkan country received the status of a candidate country in 2005, it has not been able to start accession talks due to an unresolved 'name dispute' with Greece.
A friendly guest
Bildt did not get the EU high representative job partly because he is seen as too sympathetic to Turkey, at least from the perspective of Paris and Berlin. He grabbed headlines in Turkey when he told the European Parliament on Wednesday (25 November) that Europe should honour its promise to give Ankara full membership. But he also added that Turkey must comply with the Ankara Protocol - a decision from 2004 that Turkey should open its ports to Cyprus.
The Swedish minister also derided comments made in EU circles against Turkey's EU bid alleging that the country is "too big" and "too Muslim". Nothing in the EU treaties prevents Turkey from joining the Union, he said.
However, no breakthrough is apparent in the carefully-worded communiqué issued following Bildt's talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and EU Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagiş on Thursday (26 November).
Spain's State Secretary for Europe Diego Lopez Garrido, who travelled alongside Bildt on behalf of the upcoming Spanish EU Presidency, said his country was hoping to secure progress in Turkey's accession talks when it takes over the EU presidency on 1 January 2010.
Unannounced visit
In Macedonia, Bildt arrived "unannounced" yesterday evening, according to press reports. His visit took place on the eve of a crucial bilateral meeting between the prime ministers of Macedonia and Greece, Nikola Gruevski and George Papandreou (EurActiv 25/11/09).
Gruevski and Papandreou are expected "to seek a formula" which would allow Greece not to veto a decision by EU foreign ministers, due on 7 December, to set a date for opening accession negotiations with Macedonia.
Again, little information on the talks between Bildt and Gruevski filtered through. The official Macedonian agency MINA reported that Bildt came to "discuss a way of avoiding a possible Greek veto on the beginning of accession talks with Brussels".
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