Turkey and EU allies hail membership report, amid caution

ANKARA, Oct 6 (AFP) - Turkey and its European Union allies hailed a report Wednesday by the bloc's executive arm that Ankara is ready to start membership negotiations, but failed to disguise scepticism in some countries.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said it was "a historic step for both the EU and Turkey," and there was a warm welcome too from many EU states.
"If the European Coucil and (EU) countries decide in December that Turkey fulfils the criteria, opening membership negotiations in the second half of 2005 is an option," said the Dutch EU presidency in a communique.
Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland were among those who said Ankara could count on their support when EU leaders make the final decision at a summit in Brussels in mid-December on whether and when to start membership talks.
But aware of deep splits among Europe's population on accepting what would be the bloc's first mainly Muslim country, governments stressed that any talks would be attached to stringent tough conditions on Ankara's progress on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
There was also a fair degree of scepticism, with Denmark, some conservative European lawmakers and Austria's EU commissioner all expressing caution.
Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission which issued the report, insisted Europe had "nothing to fear" from Turkey.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged EU leaders to vote in favour of Turkey at the December summit.
"Turkey has undergone remarkable changes over the last few years, putting in place the extensive reforms the EU asked of it," Straw said in a statement.
"The EU must now deliver its side of the bargain."
In Strasbourg, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey wanted "the same criteria and methods" as other countries joining the 25-member European Union.
He told the Council of Europe that he hoped accession talks would begin in the first half of 2005 and lead to entry in a "reasonable period of time."
Germany, which has Europe's largest Turkish immigrant community, said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder would vote at Brussels in favour of talks.
"We warmly welcome the commission's decision," its foreign minister Joschka Fischer told a press conference, saying he was confident "the political risks of opening the door to Turkey could be foreseen."
While Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had made no comment by late Wednesday, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Rome would work hard to get a positive result. "I am convinced we will thereby contribute to keeping a strategic partner like Turkey solidly anchored to Europe."
Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini said he was "personally convinced that it would be fair if Turkey joined under certain conditions" which had always applied to other candidate countries.
In Warsaw, Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz called Turkey "the best example of a democratic state in the Islamic world."
"It is proof that the fundamental values of Western democracy can also be applied in Islamic countries," he added.
His Spanish opposite number Miguel Angel Moratinos had already said Tuesday that Madrid would support membership negotiations.
EU newcomers Latvia and Estonia said Wednesday that they would do likewise.
Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said she was "very happy" to hear the news. Athens, Ankara's regional rival, said it "supports Turkey's road to Europe."
Turkish investors reacted positively, the Istanbul stock market closing up 3.12 percent at 22,287.12 points.
But amid the positive noises there was also a good deal of caution.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen pointed to the multiple checks in place to ensure Ankara complied with EU standards, warning that Wednesday's report did not amount to a "blank cheque."
"I agree on the need to set up buffers in place to suspend negotiations if developments in the country head in the wrong direction," he told reporters.
He urged "a particularly long transition period" before Turkey could become a fully-fledged EU member, and said it might be necessary "to limit, or even stop, the free circulation of Turkish workers if it upsets the equilibirum of the European labour market."
There was no immediate reaction from Austria, one of the governments most doubtful about Turkey.
But Austria's EU commissioner Franz Fischler underlined that recommending a start to talks did not necessarily mean Turkey would join.
He said Turkey's membership "is not the same (as that for) any other former candidate countries."
Another EU official said the recommendations were not supported by all 30 members of the commission.
"The decision was adopted by consensus and not by unanimity," she said, and compared it less to a green light than an amber light.
Hans-Gert Poettering, the leader of the conservative bloc in the European Parliament, said that "an open-ended process means that the negotiations could lead to membership, but also to non-membership."
One French deputy said the bloc was not ready for Turkey, and that a green light for talks "will only aggravate the misunderstanding between the European Union and Turkey and deepen the divide within Europe between people and their leaders."