MEPs turn down ‘partnership’ option for Turkey

In a Foreign Affairs Committee vote, MEPs have rejected the
“third way” (partnership) option for Turkey. However, their report
also stated that Ankara’s negotiations will not “automatically”
lead to accession.

A report adopted by the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs
Committee on 30 November on Turkey’s EU membership bid fell short
of proposing to open the door wide to Ankara, despite the
fact that the MEPs rejected a “third way out” solution and
said that the mid-December European Council should “open the
negotiations with Turkey without undue delay”.

The report said that Turkey’s accession talks were conditional
on the continuing implementation of legal and other reforms. It
emphasised that the country’s accession process will be an
open-ended “long-lasting” process that “does not lead ‘a priori’
and automatically to accession”. However, the report also said that
“the objective of negotiations is Turkish EU membership”.

The report also emphasised that by starting the negotiation
process, Turkey would have to commit to officially recognising the
Greek Cypriot administration. In Ankara, Turkey’s Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “the European Union cannot approach
us with a new imposition on Cyprus. We will discuss this issue
during membership talks when our expectations are met on 17
December”. “Let me say clearly that no one should aim to corner
Turkey because we cannot take it,” added Erdogan.

The report, by MEP Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED, Netherlands), was
passed with 50 votes in favour, 18 against and six abstentions. A
total of 480 riders had been submitted for changes in the draft.
The report, which has no binding status, will be presented to
the Parliament’s plenary session for a vote prior to the EU summit
on 17 December (see  EURACTIV 30 Nov 2004).

Meanwhile, the Dutch Presidency has presented Turkey with the
draft of the EU summit resolutions. Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul said that it has significant deficiencies that will be
addressed in a series of studies, and added that he expected the
document to undergo several changes before it is finalised.

In related developments, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht
declared his country’s backing to Turkey’s membership bid, and a
similar supportive statement was issued by Hungary’s Foreign
Minister Ferenc Somogyi. In Slovakia, the parliament also voted to
support Turkey’s bid. Austria, meanwhile, remains adamant that the
final text of the summit decision should remain open to offering
Turkey less than full membership.

Read more with Euractiv

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