Conditional Yes

BY DERYA SAZAK
MILLIYET- France and Germany are the two key countries for Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Chirac and Schroeder’s common policies were influential in setting the date of Ankara’s appointment with the EU at this December’s summit. Both leaders proposed waiting until the end of 2004 for Turkey to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria and accordingly, the EU is now waiting for us to complete our path.
A similar process is expected to take place in December. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) believes that it has completed all the necessary reforms, expecting the EU Commission to issue a positive report on Turkey’s bid.
In addition, the atmosphere was positive during last month’s NATO summit in Istanbul. Despite Chirac’s slamming Bush for interfering in Turkey’s EU bid, as the US president said that Turkey ought to be given a date by the EU for eventual acceptance into the Union, the mood of the summit was generally optimistic on Ankara’s bid. However, France also underscored that Germany’s attitude on the issue would weigh heavily on its own policy.
The first confusing statement in the wake of the summit came from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who recently said that a ‘conditional yes’ might be given to Turkey at this December’s EU summit. Berlin’s ruling Social Democrats are currently facing problems as Schroeder’s poll numbers are in free fall. According to Ozan Ceyhun, a member of Schroeder’s Social Democrat Party (SPD), the chancellor’s message on Turkey isn’t negative at all. Ceyhun believes the SDP’s misfortunes have had nothing to do with the party’s Turkey policy. If the fall EU progress report is positive, our membership negotiations might begin next year. Let’s hope that France won’t shift its position. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s current visit to this country will be key in making the situation clearer.