ISTANBUL - EU must be rational and farsighted in its negotiations with Turkey and avoid vicious circles, said Turkish Industrialists' & Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) Executive Board Chairman Omer Sabanci today.
Sabanci released a statement on European Commission's recommendation to freeze talks with Turkey in 8 policy areas and tie opening of the rest of the chapters to Cyprus issue.
Omer Sabanci said the crisis between Turkey and EU is a result of Greek Cypriots' vetoes on EU directives for lifting the economic sanctions on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In the statement, Sabanci said this unjust attitude is not compatible with EU norms and must change.
The executive board chairman said this crisis environment must end by Greek Cypriots' lifting their veto on the mentioned directives and the issue must be resolved before EU Council meeting.
"In a negotiation process which is known to be open ended and expected to last for approximately 10 years, EU Commission is proposing to suspend some chapters at the end of the very first year. Some of the proposed chapters are not even directly related to the 10 new EU states' inclusion to the Customs Union. Government should start political initiatives that will annul this proposal until the council meeting. On the other hand EU must be rational and farsighted in the negotiation process with Turkey and must avoid vicious circles," said TUSIAD Chairman Omer Sabanci.