EU nears deal with Turkey over launching entry talks

Member states reach compromise; Ankara yet to approve document

An Armenian protester holds up a banner during a demonstration in Luxembourg yesterday, encouraging Austria’s objections to the EU offering Turkey full membership of the bloc. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik reportedly relented later yesterday, opening the way for member states to thrash out a deal. Ankara had yet to respond to the document by late yesterday.

By Robert Wielaard - The Associated Press

LUXEMBOURG - European Union governments yesterday agreed on the terms of opening entry negotiations with Turkey, after Austria dropped objections that had threatened to derail Ankara’s four-decade-long bid to join the EU, diplomats said.

The terms of the agreement were sent to Ankara in the hope that Turkey would approve them and send its foreign minister to Luxembourg later yesterday for a ceremony to officially launch the talks. But in Ankara, Akif Beki, spokesman for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said “talks are continuing. There is no agreement yet.”

Austria had resisted predominantly Muslim Turkey’s efforts to join. Although the 25-nation bloc agreed in December to set October 3 as the date to launch talks, Vienna insisted in recent days that the EU should reserve the right to grant Ankara something less than full membership if Turkey was unable to meet all membership obligations.

That stance enraged Turkey, which insisted it would accept nothing less than talks leading to full membership. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul delayed his departure to Luxembourg, insisting his country would not accept second-class citizen status in the EU.

The membership talks had been scheduled for 5 p.m., but the ceremony was delayed. No new time was set.

Opening accession talks requires the unanimous approval of all 25 EU governments, and the bloc’s foreign ministers held an emergency meeting over the weekend in an effort to persuade Vienna to back down.

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik was pushing for a statement offering Ankara the possibility of a “privileged partnership,” questioning the EU’s ability to absorb the nation of 70 million people and invoking concerns among European public opinion.

Diplomats said Plassnik eventually relented yesterday, accepting language in the EU’s negotiating mandate stating that “the shared objective of the negotiations is (Turkey’s) accession.”

Even when they begin, negotiations are expected to last for at least a decade before Turkey joins the EU.

In Ankara, Erdogan said he spoke to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who voiced support for Turkey’s EU bid. Erdogan said he maintained “hope until the last minute” that EU leaders would overcome the deadlock.

A failure to start the negotiations would be seen as a serious blow to the credibility of the EU, which made Turkey an associate member in 1963 with the prospect of future membership.

With the start of talks already in jeopardy, EU member Cyprus — which Turkey refuses to recognize — was reported to have complicated matters.

A French diplomat said Cyprus demanded stronger language in the negotiating mandate to ensure Turkey does not use international organizations to hinder Cyprus. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks. Cypriot officials denied they sought additional demands.

Failure to start negotiations with Turkey would be a severe blow to the EU’s already damaged prestige. This year, the bloc saw its proposed constitution collapse when Dutch and French voters rejected it, while a nasty spat between France and Britain over EU funding in June left it without a budget for the 2007-2013 period.