The foreign ministers meeting of the European Union (EU), which
was held here on Monday, was divided on Turkey's accession talks
with some EU governments mooting a possible suspension of entry
talks to punish Turkey for refusing to trade with EU member
Cyprus.
Foreign ministers from Greece and Austria, long-standing
skeptics of Turkey's EU bid, floated the idea of a "time-out" in
the 13-month-old entry talks in response to Turkey's ban on ships
and airplanes from Cyprus.
"If there's no important move from here until December, then it
might be wise to agree to a time-out to reduce tensions," Austrian
Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said at Monday's meeting.
The Cyprus issue has clouded Turkey's entry talks from the
beginning, along with the EU-alleged restrictions on the media and
women's and minority rights.
The European Commission, the EU's executive agency, scolded
Turkey last week for the Cypriot trade ban. The warning ushered in
a month of efforts to salvage the entry talks before a mid-December
summit of EU leaders.
"We cannot continue as if nothing has happened," Greek Foreign
Minister Dora Bakoyannis told reporters in Brussels.
"If nothing happens about the Cyprus question, nothing will be,
let's say, definitely interrupted," Luxembourg's foreign minister
Jean Asselborn said.
"But we cannot continue as if nothing happened," he added.
Cyprus joined the EU in May 2004 without the northern region
because voters in the Greek-speaking south rejected a United
Nations-backed unification plan. The Turkish-speaking north
endorsed the plan, leading Ankara to blame the Cypriot government
for the island's continuing division.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Turkey must
open its ports to Cypriot ships and planes while saying no one who
spoke at Monday's meeting demanded a halt "at the present time" to
the entry talks.
On the other side of the coin, EU enlargement commissioner
OlliRehn said on Monday Turkey will be allowed to enter the EU if
it fulfills all membership requirements.
"Yes, if Turkey meets all the conditions of accession in the end
of this long and sometimes difficult journey, it will become a
member of the EU," said Rehn ahead of the foreign ministers'
meeting.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the
EU presidency, told a press conference after Monday's meeting that
"over the next three weeks we will try to find solutions."
The EU summit, due on Dec. 14 and 15, will make a decision on
Turkey's entry talks and the EU should explore a way out to crack
the deadlock ahead of the summit.
However, Tuomioja said "no one can guarantee the result,"
despite that "we will continue our efforts."
"Consequences of failure will be not in anyone's interest," he
added.
(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2006)
