Fule plays down the magic of EU membership
By Toby Vogel
29.07.2010 / 05:40 CET
Stefan Fule, the European commissioner for enlargement, says that progress on joining the EU is in the hands of the applicant countries themselves.
This autumn, several looming deadlines could intensify the difficulties facing Štefan Füle, the European commissioner for enlargement and the neighbourhood policy. They are neatly grouped around the second week of November, when Füle is to present the Commission's progress reports on the Union's would-be members, from Croatia in the north-west Balkans to Turkey down to the south and east. Iceland, whose membership talks were launched on Tuesday (27 July), is one of the few bright spots in that picture – for now.
Cyprus problem
The United Nations wants the settlement talks on Cyprus, which have been rumbling along since the autumn of 2008, to yield a breakthrough by the end of the year or be called off. An end to the negotiations would almost certainly mean the de facto suspension of Turkey's membership talks. “It needs to be said that everybody understands that there is this elephant in the room,” Füle told European Voice. “Solving the Cyprus problem would be a tremendous boost to [Turkey's] accession.”
Progress in Turkey's membership talks has been painfully slow, with just one policy chapter opened during each of the terms of Sweden and Spain as holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers. The talks could now grind to a halt.
David Cameron, the UK's prime minister, this week (27 July) accused the Turkey-sceptics in the EU of being driven by protectionism and prejudice.
“I cannot say that we in the Commission are happy about opening one chapter per presidency,” Füle said. “At the same time, the key is in the hands of the Turks.” The pace of the talks, he said, is “a reflection of the reform process in the country”.
This is only partially true. Turkey's parliament, dominated by the mildly Islamist Justice and Development (AK) Party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, passed one of the most far-reaching reforms of the constitution before leaving for its summer break; the constitutional amendments will be put to a popular referendum on 12 September, 30 years to the day since the military coup in whose aftermath the constitution was drafted. It is the Cyprus problem and the cover it provides to opponents of Turkish accession, including Austria, France and Germany, that have limited to just three the number of chapters effectively available to be negotiated.
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/fule-plays-down-the-magic-of-eu-membership/68673.aspx
i think it pretty much explains why turkey is in a hurry...for solution...
this deal as it stands is between the EU and turkey, due to the fact turkey never really understood every club has rules to be followed...
and now told quite bluntly...lets see if they are listening...
i reckon turkey will wait till the last minute and then make an offering...as a negotiator i would do the same...
OR
turkey snubbs the EU and forms a union with her newly found buddies...highly unlikely scenario coz if i was turkey, not quite ready yet in taking such a giant leap, as the west still brings home the bacon, i would be pushing for not only looking at the cake but eating the whole lot...keeping options is the name of the game...
then again they might just offer a reduction of forces...this could be seen as a compromised by the poodles...
...all i know is they will offer the absolute minimum and they will harp how wonderfully are helping the peace process via the sacrifices they are making... 
