Greece, Cyprus voice support for Turkey's EU bid

20/10/2009

"The goal is for Turkey to become a full member," said Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

(Reuters, AFP, AP, DPA, Deutsche Welle, CNA, ANA-MPA, Hurriyet - 19/10/09)

"A major problem is that there is still occupation in the Cyprus Republic. It cannot be permitted for Turkey to have occupation troops in an EU member state," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said. [Getty Images]

EU members Greece and Cyprus reiterated their backing Monday (October 19th) for Turkey's EU bid, rejecting alternatives to full membership. At the same time, however, they called on Ankara to show goodwill and co-operation in efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, and said Turkey must meet its commitments in the accession process.

"The goal is for Turkey to become a full member," Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told reporters in Nicosia. "I am not in favour of a special association of Turkey with the EU, as long as it fulfils its obligations."

Papandreou, who also assumed the foreign ministry portfolio after his socialist PASOK party won Greece's October 4th elections, arrived on a two-day official visit to Cyprus on Monday.

Turkey's EU bid topped the agenda of talks, along with the state of negotiations on the Cyprus issue. The Mediterranean island has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974.

The president of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, has been trying to hash out a solution together with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Mehmet Ali Talat, but progress has been held up by issues such as property restitution and the return of Turkish settlers.

Meanwhile, Turkey's EU bid has been moving at a slow pace, in part due to Ankara's difficulties in implementing the required reforms. The country launched its membership negotiations in October 2005, along with Croatia. But while Croatia expects to wrap up the process next year, the timetable for Turkey could be much longer.

Cyprus and Greece both have veto power within the EU, and both say the Cyprus dispute is a show-stopper if not resolved.

"It cannot be permitted for Turkey to have occupation troops in an EU member state, especially for a candidate country," Papandreou told reporters Monday.

Complicating the issue further, Ankara has so far not implemented a 2005 protocol with the EU which required it to open ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and planes. Failure to do so led the European Commission to freeze talks on eight negotiation chapters.

According to Christofias, Turkey must not only honour the customs protocol but should recognise the administration in Nicosia and normalize relations.

"Turkey has obligations it must comply with or it will not be able to continue on its accession course without obstruction," he said. He criticized Turkish leaders for its role in the reunification talks, saying its public statements in support of the process were not being backed up by concrete action.

Egemen Bagis, Turkey's chief negotiator with the EU, said his country would open its ports to traffic from Cyprus once the EU moves to facilitate trade between the bloc and the Turkish Cypriot community.

On Monday, Papandreou and Christofias agreed to continue their close co-operation on the Cyprus issue, both in the weeks ahead of the EU summit in December, when Turkey's bid to join the bloc comes under review, and afterwards.