Turkey, EU Agree to Start Historic Membership Talks

[Nadvojvoda Janez Kranjski]

Turkey, EU Agree to Start Historic Membership Talks

By Amberin Zaman
Ankara
03 October 2005


Turkey said it had reached agreement with the European Union to open membership talks. The announcement by Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul came after nearly 24 hours of tortuous negotiations between the Ankara government and EU foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg.



Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his FM Abdullah Gul

Emerging from consultations with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top leaders, Foreign Minister Gul confirmed that agreement with the EU had finally been reached. Mr. Gul's brief comments came as he made his way to the airport to fly to Luxembourg. Mr. Gul is expected to formally launch accession negotiations with the EU after more than four decades of waiting at Europe's door.

The deal almost fell through Monday as Austria kept up its opposition to full membership for predominantly Muslim Turkey. Some 80 percent of Austrians are against Turkey's inclusion in the European bloc. Its fears of the large and predominantly Muslim nation of 70 million is shared by many Europeans.

The first signs of a breakthrough came when Austria, under heavy pressure from Britain, dropped its demands for a privileged partnership, a watered-down form of membership for Turkey.
Turkey has rejected anything short of full membership. But remaining differences over Cyprus, which remains unrecognized by Turkey, threatened to block the deal.

Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has been resisting calls to allow Cyprus to join the military alliance. Its stance is backed by the United States. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reassured Turkey Monday that it would continue to stand by the Ankara government on the Cyprus issue. The Mediterranean island has remained divided ever since Turkish troops invaded the Turkish populated north of Cyprus in 1974 in response to efforts by Greek Cypriot ultra-nationalists to join the island with mainland Greece.

The Greek Cypriots rejected the latest United Nations peace plan to reunite the island. It was permitted to join the EU last year and now has the power to veto Turkey's membership. Turkey says it will not recognize Cyprus until a final settlement endorsed by the island's minority Turks is reached.


http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-03-voa52.cfm

[henerte]

The first signs of a breakthrough came when Austria, under heavy pressure from Britain, dropped its demands for a privileged partnership, a watered-down form of membership for Turkey.

This is another good proof that all what UK cares about is weakening of the EU.

[Ordo Malleus]

Treason! Where is Chirac's veto? He was supposedly against Turkey. Why has nobody rallied against something that is clearly destructive and in frontal opposition towards everything that is Europe?

We must do something.

[Carnyx]

Who seriously believed they'd give up a 40 years old agreement? We are f***ed from the beggining by EU...

[Ebusitanus]

This is indeed a horrible day for us Europeans...I have no words to express my rage and helplessness. The mass of europe´s population is still against it. Not even talking about "fringe" nationalist groups..the rank-file population is against and still those bastards have brought it through. I´m more and more convinced that we can only hope for some meteorite hitting earth so that we might begin anew.

This is from some days ago but shows to what extends the EU is still nothing but a puppet of the US of A and their despicable fifth columnist British stooges.

LUXEMBOURG, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The United States intervened on Monday to try to rescue membership talks between the European Union and Turkey as a diplomatic deadlock deepened hours before the historic negotiations were due to open.

EU president Britain said the 25-nation bloc was "on the edge of a precipice" after Turkish objections to a clause it fears could affect NATO membership piled on top of Austrian demands that the Muslim nation be offered an alternative short of full membership.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to assure him that the proposed EU negotiating framework would not impinge on NATO, diplomats said.

A presidency spokesman said Britain still hoped to hold the opening ceremony on Monday but it would clearly be later than the planned 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) start.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was waiting nervously in Ankara for the EU to adopt a negotiating mandate before he could set off for Luxembourg.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw telephoned Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to try to clinch agreement on a formula to satisfy Austrian concerns that the EU may not be able to absorb the vast, poor, Muslim country, diplomats said.

The United States had also contacted Vienna to try to overcome objections fuelled by overwhelming public hostility to Turkish membership, they said.

Turkish financial markets yo-yoed amid the uncertainty. Stocks fell some 2.3 percent from Friday's close and the lira was down nearly 2 percent against the dollar, but both recovered in mid-afternoon amid hopes the problems would be resolved.

Rice's involvement was potentially embarrassing for the EU, highlighting its inability to solve its problems alone.


"CATASTROPHIC"

Straw told the 24 other EU foreign ministers upon resuming talks after only a couple of hours' sleep: "Yes, we are near (to a deal) but we are also on the edge of a precipice.

"If we go the right way we reach the sunny uplands. If we go the wrong way, it could be catastrophic for the European Union."

In Ankara, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of the ruling AK party that Turkey was not prepared to compromise further on the conditions for opening the long-awaited talks.

"Those in the EU who cannot digest Turkey being in the EU are against the alliance of civilisations. What I declare is this: the costs resulting from all this will be paid by them."

Turkey has frequently portrayed its entry to the EU as a way of bridging a gap between the Christian and Islamic worlds and easing tensions that may have fostered islamic militancy.

Diplomats said Ankara had objected to a clause in the EU negotiating mandate that stipulates it may not block accession of EU states to international organisations and treaties.

Turkish nationalists and the powerful military argued that might prevent Turkey blocking a divided Cyprus from joining NATO. Cyprus refused to let the EU change the wording.

But diplomats said Straw and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana hoped to assuage Ankara with a letter clarifying that the clause did not impinge on sovereign defence arrangements.


TIME RUNNING OUT

As the clock ticked down, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told ministers: "Time is running out. We have got to get this right. We seem so close. We cannot let this opportunity slip away."

Failure to start the talks could deal a blow to political reform and foreign investment in Turkey, a strategic country of 72 million people straddling Europe and the Middle East.

It would also deepen a sense of crisis in Europe, after referendum defeats for the draft EU constitution in France and the Netherlands, and an acrimonious failure in June to agree on a long-term budget for the enlarged bloc.

"If there is no deal, my personal judgement is that we are increasingly starting to look like a Union of failing states because we cannot make any decisions," Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks told Reuters.

Ratcheting up pressure on Austria, Straw postponed a planned review of Austrian ally Croatia's progress towards EU entry talks until the Turkey issue was sorted out.

A Turkish official said nerves in Ankara were "extremely stretched ... Every minute that passes is making things more bitter and it won't be nice starting negotiations with all these bruises."

The European Parliament compounded Turkish irritation last week by saying Turkey must recognise the 1915 killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule as an act of genocide before it can join the wealthy European family.

Several hundred Armenians staged a noisy demonstration outside the EU meeting, demanding that Turkey be forced to make amends for what they called the Armenian genocide.

[Menydh]

I read a poll today with the percentage of support/rejection to the entry of Turkey in the various European countries. It was noticeable that Cyprus, Germany and Austria were the countries where rejection was higher. Obviously Germany and Austria the countries more directly affected from Turkish immigrants.

Other countries followed, but not to the high level of rejection of those countries. Which tells how little people know about the problems that do not affect them directly, and/or how little they care about the problems of others.

Or in other words, what a piece of useless rubbish and big lie the E.U. is.

[ewald steiner]

Sad news for European Europe. I expected a more poised stand by Austria, after all they knew they would become under pressure. Can someone tell us about the kind of pressure exerted ? Financial pressure, threats, ?

I never expected the craven attitude of the Greek and Cypriot governments. They merrily went along disregarding 4 centuries of history and the sentiments of their own people, well there you have real democracy in action.

There are those that say nothing really has happened, and that Turkey will not become a member after all. Then my question is why the dishonesty, the perfidy and the charade ?

They keep bringing historical reason as barriers to Turkey's eventual acceptance as a member. Armenian genocide recognition, human rights, human values, policies align with EU spirit etc, etc. However with Turkey holding a mass of 80 m turks ,they can easyly dance around these historical issues. Being the majority component of the EU comprising countries the Turks will not sit back and take orders but will deploy and spread their influence to dominate the springs of government and power.
Compare the bellicose and belligerent posture of Erdogan and Gul vis a vis their pusilanimous European counterparts and you can get the picture.

The mere fact that accession talks are starting is a demonstration of Turkish power. The uninvited guest, restless in the waiting room, uttered threats and made menacing gestures, plus lecturing didactically to the EU bureacracies about the impending dangers of exclusion.

The EU is on the road to dissolution or at best to remain in a condition of political impotence. There are too many fissiparous forces at work, they can not even control the untramelled invasion of their individual countries, which is the easiest thing to do provided there is political will, how can one expect them too be capable of managing geopolitics ?
Sad day for Europe, the Europe, as we knew it.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by ewald steiner

Sad news for European Europe. I expected a more poised stand by Austria, after all they knew they would become under pressure. Can someone tell us about the kind of pressure exerted ? Financial pressure, threats, ?

I don't know which kind of pressure has the U.S. excercised, but they have been openly pressing for the admittance of Turkey into the E.U. Maybe now Europe should, as a sign of gratitude, demand that they open wide their borders to Mexico and a few other Central and South American countries.

As for threats, I recall Turkey's president a few days ago saying that "those countries which oppose to the entry of Turkey in Europe are putting at risk the 'alliance of civilisations' and would have to be held accountable for the consequences derived from their acts".

Europe is officially fucked up.

There are those that say nothing really has happened, and that Turkey will not become a member after all.

15 years ago I remember Spaniards seeing countries like England, The Netherlands and France and saying that such people would never enter Spain. Well, they are here today..

[Prinz Eugen]

Both of the two major Greek parties agree to help Turkey to enter Europe!TRAITORS!

[Corvin]

I spoke today with a friend that he is in the EU, and we discussed some interresting points about it.

First of all the acceptance of Turkey will be done very late, obviously within a period of 10 years, as is already been discussed by the British Government.
Within that period the Turkey should abolish some rules and regulations in order to become closer to EU. At the same time it will become richer because of the acceptance of more European companies and cash from EU.

Now, what does it means for us...
The reality is, that if tomorrow Turkey was entering Europe, is certain that within a couple of years the political climate in Europe will be unstable enough to create ground to nationalistic-intereuropean forces (we).

Our fellows the (terror)democratic goverments they have acknowledged that and provide a period of time to turkey, in order to make its entrance gradual and transparent to us. In fact, Turkey is already within the European borders (see control of people), but does not yet share the amount of money that circulate in Europe, and more importantly, the political power.
Yet, Turkey has around to 50000000 people, with continual increase of population. In the case that enter legislative in EU will have a proportional amounts of seats with respect to population, and more interrestingly will be able to control more direct Turkish politicians that are elected in various countries in Europe. In this sense, the dream of entering Europe is officially our nightmare, and worst of it, it will take hundreds of years to get rid of them.

Another problem that arise is where the borders of Europe. By accepting Turkey, we give the reason to Israel, Marokko, Algeria and other, to enter to a continent that we needed sweat and blood to build and defend

My Friends and Brothers, we are cursed to live in Interresting times
and I only hope to see where will end...