Cyprus-Forum.com

[SKI-preo]

Turkey warns on EU sanctions over Cyprus
By Tony Barber in Brussels
Published: December 3 2009 12:12 | Last updated: December 3 2009 12:12
Turkey warned on Thursday that its European Union membership talks could suffer irreparable damage if EU leaders imposed new sanctions next week in retaliation for Ankara’s refusal to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.

“There are already too many sanctions on Turkey because of Cyprus,” said Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator. “Any additional sanctions will kill the motivation of my leaders towards the EU.”

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The Greek Cypriot-controlled government of Cyprus is pressing its 26 fellow EU member-states to tighten measures against Turkey for failing to abide by the so-called Ankara protocol – a 2004 EU-Turkish agreement that Turkey would open direct transport links with the Greek Cypriots in return for launching EU membership talks.

EU governments agreed in 2006 to freeze eight of the 35 negotiating chapters, or policy areas, that Turkey needs to conclude in order to join the EU.

EU leaders will meet at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday next week to decide their course of action. The bloc is divided among countries that support Turkey’s EU aspirations, such as Sweden and the UK, and others such as Austria and France that do not want Turkey to become a member.

Many EU governments take the view that it would be inadvisable to impose new sanctions on Turkey at a time when talks on a comprehensive Cyprus settlement between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, which started in September 2008, are entering their most delicate phase.

Mr Bagis, speaking at a meeting of the European Policy Centre, a Brussels-based think-think, supported that position, saying: “Any attempt to derail these efforts would not serve anyone’s purpose.”

Turkey’s EU accession talks started in 2005 but have made increasingly slow progress. Eleven chapters have been opened so far, and a 12th – dealing with environment policy – may be opened later this month.

But as the prospect of early EU entry has faded, so Turkish public opinion has become less enthusiastic about membership. Moreover, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development party, which has its roots in political Islam, has broadened the scope of its foreign policy to make relations with the EU less of an overriding priority.

Mr Bagis said Turkey was willing to open its ports and airports as soon as the isolation of northern Cyprus was stopped. “We would be more than happy to deliver on our promises simultaneously,” he said.

Turkey has refused to honour the Ankara protocol on the grounds that the EU reneged on a promise to end the isolation of northern Cyprus, where Turkish Cypriots in 1983 declared an independent state recognised by no country except Turkey.

Mr Bagis dismissed concerns that Turkey’s relations with the EU could be complicated by the fact that Herman Van Rompuy, the EU’s new full-time president, once gave a speech as a Belgian opposition politician in which he flatly ruled out Turkish membership of the EU.

“We have a saying in Turkish – ‘the head that wears the crown gets wiser’,” Mr Bagis said. “Now that he has a larger crown, he has to represent the aspirations and feelings of the whole of Europe.

“I think he will make a good leader of Europe. We have to give him a chance.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

[B25]

Hold on, Hold on, let me get this, Turkey is doing the warnings?????

F me, but isn't this like putting the cart before the horse.

It's as if the EU is begging Turkey to join and not Turkey wanting to get in.

Cheeky bastards, the EU should just tell them to take a hike.

Pft!

[steveuk]

One of the biggest dangers of Turkey joining the EU from the UK's point of view is that we will be flooded with Turkish immigrants, like we don't already have enough of them here now!!

[B25]

One of the biggest dangers of Turkey joining the EU from the UK's point of view is that we will be flooded with Turkish immigrants, like we don't already have enough of them here now!!

Not just the UK but much of the EU. poor uneducated peasants most of them.

Imagine, they would all be eligable for social, bye bye UK.

[Oracle]

One of the biggest dangers of Turkey joining the EU from the UK's point of view is that we will be flooded with Turkish immigrants, like we don't already have enough of them here now!!

Did you see that thread about how much of the drug trafficking the bastards are involved in?

[paliometoxo]

most of it they bring in the heroin from the other countries that produce it..

more turks in london and uk? but that would also make more turks want to go back to mainland turkey and get ids unless they provide the same ids in trnc

[yialousa1971]

One of the biggest dangers of Turkey joining the EU from the UK's point of view is that we will be flooded with Turkish immigrants, like we don't already have enough of them here now!!

Did you see that thread about how much of the drug trafficking the bastards are involved in?

http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/4491175.Cannabis_cafe_closed/