[A-List] EU/US rivalry: Turkey

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

US ups pressure for Turkish accession to EU
By Judy Dempsey in Brussels
Financial Times: October 8 2002

Europeans are coming under increasing pressure from Washington to offer
Turkey, a US ally, a date for starting accession negotiations with the
European Union instead of setting new conditions or obstructing progress.

"Hardly a week goes by without Washington telling the European Commission
and member states to offer Turkey the perspective of eventual EU
membership," said a European diplomat.

The US is exerting maximum pressure now, partly because of Turkey's
strategic and geographic importance if Washington decides to launch military
strikes against Iraq.

"We do not hesitate in discussing our views of the eastern Mediterranean
with all our allies and friends," said Tom Weston, Washington's special
envoy to Cyprus. "We have made our views very strongly, very forcefully with
our friends and allies," he told the FT.

Washington is also concerned that, once the EU expands from 15 to 25 members
by mid-2004, Brussels will be reluctant to take on another enlargement for
some time afterwards. "Yet the Europeans should recognise that a stable,
prosperous, democratic Turkey anchored to the EU is to their benefit too,"
said a US diplomat.

Turkey was given EU candidate status in 1999 after Madeleine Albright,
former US secretary of state, exerted immense pressure on member states
attending the Helsinki summit. This pressure will be stepped up between
Wednesday - when the Commission publishes its annual progress reports on the
13 candidate countries, including Turkey - and the EU's December summit in
Copenhagen.

The Commission will conclude that 10 countries, mostly former communists,
will be ready to complete accession negotiations by Copenhagen. Turkey,
however, will not be offered a date. The Commission said it did not intend
to do so, since that was up to member stater, and in any case Turkey had yet
to meet the "Copenhagen criteria" - preconditions, such as respect for human
rights, the rule of law and ending torture, for starting negotiations.

Mr Weston, who will visit Brussels on Wednesday, said he hoped the
Commission would acknowledge the radical reforms Turkey introduced in August
when it abolished the death penalty.

"Turkey has made stupendous progress with those reforms. It was progress
that surprised all of us," said Mr Weston. "It is an effort to meet the
Copenhagen criteria. It [Turkey] should be recognised for it. I trust the
Commission will present an objective and fair analysis on Turkey."

The Commission and most member states, however, have serious reservations
over giving Turkey, a secular Muslim country, a date for starting
negotiations, regardless of reforms.

"Many member states see the EU as a Christian club," said a Commission
official. "The cost of admitting Turkey would also be enormous."