Turkey vents frustration over EU talks

ELITSA VUCHEVA

18.09.2008 @ 09:27 CET

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the EU for proceeding too slowly with Ankara's accession talks and called on the bloc to play fair with his country.

"Before our membership process started, opening and closing chapters was not an issue. Chapters were opened and closed. But now we are struggling for this," Mr Erdogan said at a dinner with ambassadors and heads of foreign missions in Ankara, Turkish media report.

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Turkey has been an EU candidate country since 1999 and started accession talks in October 2005.

It has so far opened just six out of the 35 negotiation chapters that have to be concluded before it becomes an EU member, with the French EU presidency planning to open two more before the end of the year.

The Turkish premier said the EU "is not as fast as Turkey in regards with negotiation chapters," calling on the EU to proceed in the same way with all candidate countries.

"We say: We want you to give us the same rights you granted to others [EU candidates] before us. If you see us as a burden - that's a different story - then say so," Mr Erdogan was quoted as saying by Anatolia news agency.

"But you should know that Turkey is coming to relieve you of your burden, not to be a cause of burden. You should view Turkey like this."

'You should not have opened the door'

For its part, the EU has been calling on Ankara to boost reforms and work on a number of issues, such as freedom of expression, the important role of the military in Turkish society, cultural rights, trade union rights, women's and children's rights.

At a meeting in Brussels on Monday (15 September), EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn also urged Ankara to speed up constitutional reform.

Several negotiations chapters also remain suspended because of Ankara's refusal to open its ports to Cypriot ships.

Cyprus - an EU member state since 2004 - has been divided since a Turkish invasion of the island's northern part in 1974, triggered by a Greek-backed coup.

Turkey does not recognise the Greek government in the southern part of the divided island, while at the same time is the only country to recognise its northern Turkish section.

Earlier this year, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called Ankara's refusal to let Cypriot ships access its ports "the main obstacle for significant progress in Turkey's [EU] accession process."

Additonally, several member states - including EU presidency country France - remain generally opposed to the EU accession of a Eurasian country of 70 million people.

Mr Erdogan said that the EU was aware of all the shortcomings and problems, including the Cyprus issue, before starting the accession talks with Turkey.

Perhaps "you [EU] should not have opened the door in the first place," the prime minister said, according to the Zaman daily.