Turkey accepts EU conditions for accession talks to start

Turkey's EU membership bid has been agreed following a hotly debated summit and corridor diplomacy involving the Dutch presidency and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan.

However, EU leaders also agreed to set tough pre-conditions and declared that talks would be open-ended with no guaranteed outcome. The landmark deal, which could change the face of Europe and Turkey over the next two decades, came after hours of wrangling between Mr Erdogan and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, mainly over Cyprus.

Following these discussions, Turkey pledged unilaterally to sign a protocol extending its EU association agreement to the 10 new member states, including Cyprus, before it starts entry talks scheduled for October 3, next year. However, it was also agreed that the text of this protocol would be adapted to take account of the special situation on the divided Mediterranean island.

EU diplomats told The Times that Turkey's endorsement of the protocol will effectively mean that Ankara will be officially recognising the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia, something the Cypriot government was adamant about before giving its consent. The diplomats said the EU decided at the eleventh hour to drop a "humiliating" demand that Turkey initial the pact immediately yesterday.

During the negotiations, the Cypriot issue was being considered as a make or break condition for the deal to be reached. Earlier in the talks, Mfr Erdogan was said to have been disappointed at the EU's insistence on Cyprus, apart from other conditions.

Following modifications to the draft presidency conclusions, however, the 25 leaders agreed that "the European Council welcomed Turkey's decision to sign the protocol regarding the adaptation of the Ankara Agreement (the association agreement), taking account of the accession of the 10 new member states. In this light, it welcomed the declaration of Turkey that 'the Turkish government confirms that it is ready to sign the protocol on the adaptation of the Ankara Agreement prior to the actual start of accession negotiations and after reaching agreement on and finalising the adaptations which are necessary in view of the current membership of the European Union'".

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek controlled south and a Turkish controlled north since Turkey invaded the island in 1974.

Reacting on the summit conclusions, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told a press conference that Malta was satisfied that a historical deal was reached on Turkey. He said that from Malta's point of view, the fact that Turkey and Croatia can possibly join the EU will add to the stability of the Mediterranean region, something which Malta will definitely benefit from.

Dr Gonzi, however, admitted that negotiations with Turkey will be long and thorough. Asked by The Times whether the Maltese government will eventually consider holding a referendum on Turkey's accession if negotiations are brought to an end, Dr Gonzi said that it was too early to commit oneself on such an issue. However he didn't exclude a referendum, commenting that this will have to be decided upon in due time.

French President Jacques Chirac has already committed himself on holding a referendum on the issue. According to recent polls, French public opinion is against Turkey joining the EU. The majority of the French do not consider Turkey as being part of Europe.

An EU diplomat told The Times that governments should tackle the issue of holding a referendum when and if Turkey concludes negotiations. He commented that "a week is already too long in politics, let alone 15 years of negotiations".

The summit took other important decisions. Bulgaria and Romania have been given the green light and will now be signing their accession treaties in April next year. Croatia will open accession negotiations on March 17. Dr Gonzi spoke briefly on the next EU presidency, to be held by Luxembourg. He said that for Malta this presidency will be crucial as a decision on the next EU budget will have to be taken. The next EU budget will set the funds for the years 2007-2014.