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EU:
TURKEY TOPS AGENDA AT INFORMAL FOREIGN MINISTERS
MEETING
Newport, UK, 1 Sept. (AKI) - Turkey's membership bid
is dominating a two-day informal meeting of European
Union foreign ministers taking place on Thursday and
Friday in the Welsh costal town of Newport. Security
at the meeting, which is being hosted by current the
current EU president, Britain, is reported to be
rigid, as a heightened state of alert continues
across the UK after the July London bombings. On the
eve of the meeting Austria has swung linto line
behind German conservatives, who have proposed a "priviledged
partnership" rather than full EU membership for
Turkey.
Entry talks are due to begin on 3 October, but
several countries - most notably Germany and France
- oppose the move. Ostensibly they find dault with
Ankara's continuing refusal to recognise the Greek
Cypriot government, but there is a feeling,
especially in conservative circles, that Islamic
Turkey has no place in the EU club.
On Thursday, Austrian foreign minister Ursula
Plassnik stated in a letter to her EU colleagues
that the negotiating terms should mention explicitly
"A specific alternative to EU membership".
"Such a partnership would constitute a more
realistic goal in the medium term for Turkey, as
well as for the EU member states, without excluding
the perspective of full membership, " Plassnik's
letter read.
Other items on the agenda at the Newport meeting
include security and defence policy, development and
trade relations with non-EU countries, and Iran's
nuclear programme. Ministers are likely to try and
reach a common position on this question before
United Nations inspectors report next weekend.
Although the continuing row between China and the EU
over Chinese textiles exports is not on the meeting
agenda, observers say it is likely to crop up.
www.adnki.com
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