Commissioner Rehn: Cyprus failure to slow Turkey’s EU membership bid

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Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, says that negotiations on European Union membership for Turkey will not stop, although the failure of discussions over Cyprus mean that they will slow down to at least some extent.
      "The negotiations will not be frozen or stopped, but they will slow down in some respects", Rehn said at the University of Helsinki on Monday.
      Earlier in the day, at the the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (EUROMED) in Tampere, it became apparent that efforts to reach an agreement on the Cyprus question had failed.
      Rehn said that new efforts should be made to find a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus question under the leadership of the United Nations. The previous attempt at uniting the island failed in the spring of 2004, when the southern Greek side of the island rejected a UN proposal in a referendum. The northern, Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus approved it.
      Rehn said that the Commission will make its proposal to the EU member states on further measures to be taken on the matter before December 11th, when decisions are to be made on the matter. He added that intense discussions are to continue with Finland, the holder of the EU Presidency.
     
At this stage Rehn did not want to speculate on what a partial slowdown of Turkey’s membership talks means in practice. He said that he first wants to discuss the matter with the whole European Commission. One possibility is to stop negotiations on matters related to a customs union between the EU and Turkey.
      Rehn said that he would talk to Commission President José Manuel Barroso on Tuesday on the preparation of a statement by the Commission.
     
Rehn expressed appreciation for Finland’s efforts to resolve the dispute between Cyprus and Turkey, and to push it aside, so that it would no longer be an obstacle to Turkish membership. It was known in advance that the negotiations would be difficult.
      "Salmon is such a valuable fish that it is worth fishing for it even if you don’t get it", Rehn said metaphorically. "This clarified the situation. New we learned that the best way to move this matter forward is to achieve a solution in the unification of the island."
      The Commissioner was giving a lecture on the prospects for Turkish EU membership. In his talk, Rehn emphasised that there is no doubt that Turkey belongs to Europe, pointing out that political ties between Turkey and the EU are nearly as old as the EU itself. On the other hand, Turkey needs to meet the obligations of membership.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Talks between European Union and Turkey over Cyprus fail (27.11.2006)

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