EU foreign ministers Monday reached agreement on a partnership with Turkey for its eventual entry into the EU after fudging the wording on thorny Cyprus and Aegean issues, the French Foreign Minister said.
Hubert Vedrine, whose country presides over the EU through the end of the month, said Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem had approved the document in a lunch-hour telephone call.
Greece, as an EU member, also agreed.
"There is an accord on the membership partnership with Turkey," Vedrine said.
He gave no details of the document, saying only, "We really worked on the wording. It was almost like doing wood inlay."
EU sources said the changes involved wordplay over expressions like "political criteria" and "political dialogue" relating to an accord at the Helsinki summit a year ago that gave Turkey special candidate status.
Turkey had vehemently opposed previous formulations, changed since Helsinki to include resolution of the Turkish-Greek dispute over Cyprus and the Aegean.
Turkey believes the territorial disputes are unrelated issues and had stated it would revise its relations with the EU if it persisted with the requirement.
The 15 EU members, said Vedrine, consider that "this is a good text."
Gunther Verheugen, EU commissioner for enlargement, said, "We're very happy that this very difficult project is now under control."
Although giving no details of the document, he said it was "important to both sides, and I am firm in the conviction that this is the beginning of a change toward democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
"The accession process is a cornerstone of this whole effort with Turkey, and it means that this process of change in Turkey has to be worked in close conjunction and cooperation with the EU," said Verheugen.
"I am very optimistic as regards the possibilities of future developments."
Turkey is in a unique position vis-a-vis its application for EU membership, and the EU's push into the defense field, which will be heavily dependent on NATO hardware.
Turkey is one of four European NATO members -- along with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland -- that do not belong the EU, but want to.
There are a total of 13 candidate countries, but Turkey is last in line, having been granted special candidate status at the December 1999 Helsinki summit on condition it meet EU criteria on democracy and human rights, which it has yet to do.
The Ankara government grew furious last month over reports that a resolution to its territorial dispute over Cyprus with arch-rival and EU member Greece were being added to the list of prerequisites for EU accession, under pressure from Athens.
Turkey insists on sticking to the Helsinki conditions and refuses to accept what it sees as illegitimate add-ons.
It also insists on participating in EU defense planning from the start, citing its strategic position bordering the Middle East, and that fact that as a NATO member it would be asked to contribute to an EU military operation.
Turkey has been a NATO member since 1952. The Incirlik air base in eastern Turkey served as a critical staging area for the Gulf War, for subsequent air attacks on Baghdad and for patrol of UN-mandated no-fly zones over Iraq.
Such was Turkey's fury at being cut out of EU defense planning that NATO secretary general George Robertson flew to Ankara in November to soothe Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who afterward said he was still far from satisfied.
"Turkey's rights on this issue are being disregarded," Ecevit snapped on November 23. "The EU's decisions on (the use of) NATO (assets) will be taken without us. It is not possible to accept this -- BRUSSELS (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
