The European Union decided to postpone the adoption of Turkey's accession partnership program until December, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine announced Monday.
Vedrine, whose nation now holds the rotating EU presidency, offered no details about the postponement. It may be due to EU-member Greece's demand that its territorial disputes with Turkey, particularly over Cyprus, be discussed in membership negotiations, according to European sources.
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated Saturday that Turkey would "revise" relations with the EU if its accession was tied to the solution of the Cyprus conflict and territorial disputes with Greece. He said Turkey hoped the accession partnership program, a step toward full union membership, could be taken up for a final approval at the EU general affairs council on Monday.
Turkey's anger stemmed from an EU-penned program of reforms, which urged Ankara to back UN efforts to settle the 26-year-long division of the island of Cyprus as a short-term objective.
The European Commission criticized Turkey in its annual report on candidate nations' progress towards membership, published November 8. The Commission reproached Turkey for continuing to disregard human rights and ruling out the possibility of opening negotiations.
Nonetheless, the Commission for the first time formally proposed Turkey's membership in order to allow Ankara to "fulfill membership criteria little by little."
The Commission prioritized several short- and medium-term goals to be achieved during membership with EU financial support. The Commission insisted on the need for an international accord on Cyprus, which has been divided into a Turkish sector in the north and Greek sector in the south since 1974. — (AFP, Brussels)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
