EU and Turkey near deal over Cyprus

Turkey and the EU moved closer today to resolving differences over Turkish recognition of Cyprus, the key dispute preventing Ankara from accepting an offer to open membership talks next October.

Diplomats said EU and Turkish officials today rewrote the portion of the EU’s offer that would have required Turkey to initial a customs union agreement and thereby effectively recognise the Greek Cypriot-led government.

The 25 EU leaders met in Brussels this afternoon to review the revised draft. It was unclear whether all 25 had approved the revision.

Turkey still maintains troops on the divided Mediterranean island 30 years after invading to block a coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece.

The EU leaders agreed yesterday to begin membership talks with Ankara on October 3, but linked the offer to effective Turkish recognition of Cyprus, which joined the EU in May.

Turkey, which had hoped for an April start date, opposes early recognition. The Europeans proposed Turkey sign an accord expanding its existing customs union with the EU to include the 10 new members that joined in May – including Cyprus.

The Europeans said that would satisfy the demand for recognition. They wanted Turkey to initial the customs union agreement Friday and then sign it before accession talks begin next year.

But the Turks believed even that step went too far.

“The mood in the Turkish delegation is one of disappointment,” an Erdogan aide said as the Turkish leader prepared to meet Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the summit host.

To win over the Turks, EU officials said Balkenende was redrafting the statement on the customs union formula. Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said the deliberations were difficult “but I’m pretty sure there will be a deal”.

Differences over the decades-long issue of Cyprus, split between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, have long been a source of irritation between Turkey and Western Europe.

But Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that recognition of Cyprus, “either directly or indirectly” was “out of the question”.

Erdogan and Balkenende failed to reach agreement on the start date for membership negotiations during talks that lasted past midnight after the EU made its offer.

“We realised very big issues are at stake,” Balkenende said.

In the draft of a summit statement, the EU leaders urged Turkey to stay the course on political reforms and push for ”zero tolerance” of torture and mistreatment.

Membership talks will be “open-ended”, meaning they will not automatically lead to membership, although that is the goal. If the talks fail to lead to full membership, the EU will not abandon Ankara but “anchor Turkey in European structures”, according to the draft text.

The draft also makes clear that negotiations may be stopped if Turkey backslides and does not push through the economic and political reforms needed to qualify for EU membership.

Turkey would become the largest EU member since its population is expected to surpass Germany’s 83 million people by 2020. That would give Turkey considerable power since voting within the EU is weighted by population.