Cyprus-Forum.com

[insan]

EU leaders must play fair with Turkey in its EU membership talks to help break a vicious circle, a commission of elder statesmen said.

Monday, 07 September 2009 13:42

Calling for an end to this "vicious circle", it said: "This will require a change of attitude of both European and Turkish leaderships."

The commission is made up of former political leaders who back Turkish membership but most are from countries where there is strong hostility to Turkish EU accession.

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=46899

[insan]

The report urged European leaders to work with priority for a negotiated Cyprus settlement in 2009 because the chance of a federal solution and demilitarization of the island will certainly not come again in this political generation. “The difficulty of reaching this objective is small compared to the likely complications of failure,” it said. Warning that governments will be caught between loyalty to a member state and their important strategic interests in Turkey, the report added that failure of the talks would indefinitely block the EU-Turkey process and would further hinder cooperation between the EU and NATO because of Cyprus-Turkey differences.



http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... 2009-09-07

[insan]

Long opposed to Turkey’s entrance into the European Union, France has called on Turkey to “see the reality” and ponder a new option it formulates as “the most possible association” with the EU.

“Calling it a ‘privileged partnership’ is wrong. Turkey is already in a customs union with us. What we seek is a relationship that would make Turkey associated as much as possible with the EU,” Pierre Ménat, director of EU affairs for the French foreign ministry, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview conducted last week in Paris.

“It would be much better if we could discuss it. But it’s not possible, as the Turkish authorities are too emotional on this issue. If we can see the reality, then we can have better relations,” he said.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy is known for his firm opposition to Turkey’s admission into the EU, a stance in which he is joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Sarkozy says Turkey’s full membership in the EU would destabilize the bloc’s future by enlarging its borders to the fragile Middle East


No immigrants wanted

According to Dorotheé Schmid, head of the Turkish-studies program at the French Institute of International Relations, or IFRI, it is not Turkey itself that French public opinion opposes but the entire enlargement process. “The last enlargement processes were not liked here, either,” she said. “The first reason is the economic crisis. The second is France – like other countries – does not want to have more immigrants. And Turks are seen as potential immigrants.”

Another problem, Schmid said, is the strategic dilemma over Turkey’s geographical positioning. “Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden are trying to sell Turkey [to the EU] for strategic purposes,” she said. “But in France, it does not work. Many French simply do not want to have borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria.”

Recalling that U.S. President Barack Obama and Sarkozy publicly discussed the Turkey issue during the American leader’s visit to Paris last month, she said: “Instead of Obama and others, you should be able to talk about Turkey; explain why Turkey is strategically important.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... etter-ties

[insan]

Bildt: Cyprus talks 'most important political event in Europe'


Carl Bildt
07.SEP.09
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has said that the Cyprus peace talks will be the most important political event in Europe during the next few months.

Bildt made the statement during a press conference which followed a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers.

On the subject of EU enlargement, Bildt expressed the Swedish presidency's intention to bring the western Balkans into a new phase - a new stage of the accession process.

"We are also working on the Turkish accession, needless to say, and of great importance is of course here, not directly related but it is affected of course, by the state of the Cyprus peace talks.


"I have said previously and I am prepared to repeat it, I think the Cyprus peace talks is probably the single most important political event in Europe during the next few months'," he said.

http://www.famagusta-gazette.com/defaul ... te&he=.com