BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET- EU Commission President Romano Prodi has arrived in Turkey. Visits on these levels coincide with the times Europe has to make important decisions about Turkey. Prodi has close relations with Ankara and knows us very well. He has visited Turkey before, but it’s his first visit as Commission president, and he has a purpose in mind. This visit shows that Ankara’s European perspective and the year 2004 are important issues not only for us, but also for Europe. This is a positive sign, but the exaggerated dignity in Prodi’s statements isn’t encouraging. He often says that the EU expects Turkey to comply carefully with the Copenhagen criteria and implement them. He stresses the importance of implementing reforms for southeastern Anatolia. This is all right, but when he starts to talk about the difficulties of making decisions about Turkey, I get the impression of a reluctance beneath this extreme dignity. For example, when he was speaking with Mehmet Ali Birand and Zeynep Lule on CNN-Turk, he said, ‘Turkey isn’t Malta.’ What has our population got to do with the criteria? When such criteria are put forth, naturally pessimism occurs, doubts grow deeper and reluctance spreads. However, Turkey started this year optimistically.
Another important issue on Prodi’s agenda is Cyprus. He said, ‘Cyprus will become an EU member in May. It would be better for you to help reach an agreement by that date.’ Otherwise, negotiations might continue after May. Experts say that it’s legally correct that the EU agreement can’t be reopened to negotiation. Then what will happen to the right of the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey? They will be subject to the EU acquis communautaire. So if an agreement can’t be reached by May, the island’s Turks will become a minority. But if the Cyprus issue is solved in May, this doesn’t guarantee that the EU will start membership negotiations with Ankara.
The EU can’t treat Turkey partially. This stance, which could turn the negotiations process into a process of ‘submission,’ is far from being encouraging for a solution. If the EU makes all of Cyprus a full member on May 1, it should encourage Turkey at the June summit where this decision would be announced. Of course it’s our duty to implement reforms. But if Turkey completes its preparations for full membership negotiations and put forth the political will for a solution on Cyprus, the EU should give Turkey its first political message at the June summit.