EU sets out path Ankara must follow
LUXEMBOURG – The EU is to present Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem today with the demand that his country help solve Greek-Turkish differences peacefully, contribute toward solving the Cyprus issue and work toward establishing greater democracy inside Turkey. This was decided by EU foreign ministers at their meeting yesterday within the context of the EU-Turkey Association Council. The text of the joint position on Turkey notes the improvement in Greek-Turkish relations and stresses that the EU expects greater progress on the basis of the principle of the peaceful solution of problems demanded by the EU’s Helsinki summit in 1998. The EU welcomes the recent start of exploratory talks between senior diplomats of Greece and Turkey. Regarding Cyprus, the foreign ministers stressed that the EU remains firm on the Helsinki decision that Cyprus’s accession is not dependent on the solution to the island’s political problem and that once in the union, Cyprus must have a single international presence and speak with one voice. This rules out Ankara’s demand for a confederation on the island. The EU ministers said it would be a positive factor if the ongoing talks aimed at reuniting Cyprus were concluded in June. The EU is expected to avoid giving in to Ankara’s demand to name a date for the start of accession talks. Turkey’s finance minister, Kemal Dervis, in an interview with Kathimerini’s English Edition, said: «We are quite determined to move ahead, toward membership… We want to begin negotiations for membership as soon as possible.»
