|
Brussels, 29 Sept. (AKI) - Just four days before
Turkey is due to begin membership talks with the
European Union, ambassadors from the 25-member bloc
have failed to agree on a definitive framework for
the negotiations. Austria refused to give its
go-ahead unless the official negotiating framework
includes the possibility that 'privileged
partnership' may be the outcome of the talks rather
than full membership.
Britain, the current EU president, has convened a
meeting of the 25 EU foreign ministers on Sunday to
try to find a way forward. Thursday's impasse
follows Wednesday's slight to Turkey when the
European Parliament's approved a resolution in which
it supports the start of membership talks with
Turkey but lays down a series of provisos. The
parliament said recognition of the killing of more
than a million Armenians in 1915 as genocide was "a
prerequisite for accession".
Euro-MPs also postponed a vote on extending Turkey's
customs agreement to the ten newest member states
because of Ankara's refusal to recognise Cyprus. The
parliament's decisions do not affect the start of
entry talks on 3 October, but are seen as a further
sign of European reluctance towards Turkey's bid.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm,
described the postponement of an important vote on
the trade agreement as "an own goal".
The decision was motivated by Turkey's recent
declaration that signing the protocol of the Ankara
Agreement did not mean any form of recognition of
Cyprus, which became an EU member last May. Turkey
also refuses to admit naval vessels and airplanes
from Cyprus.
The "privileged partnership" for Turkey being pushed
by Austria is also viewed positively by the German
centre-right leader Angela Merkel, while Ankara
insists that nothing short of full membership is
acceptable.
www.adnki.com
Top |
® 