THE HAGUE, Nov 15 (AFP) - Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said Monday that Turkey's entry into the European Union by 2015 was feasible if everything went as scheduled and Ankara held up its end of the bargain.
"Let's say if we start the negotiations in 2005, if there are no unforeseen circumstances (...) and if Turkey goes on on the way of reforms, and I don't see any reason why they should not be able to fulfill the criteria, we estimate that the negotiations could last about 10 years," said the minister.
Asked pointedly whether Turkey's entry into the EU by 2015 was realistic, Bot, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, replied "yes."
The EU's 25 member states are to decide at a December 17 European summit whether to open entry negotiations with the vast, mainly Muslim nation, which has been an EU candidate since 1999.
Bot said the EU presidency was currently taking an inventory of members' positions on opening accession talks with Ankara.
In a report issued last month, the European Commission recommended that membership negotiations with Turkey begin immediately, while linking its recommendation to certain conditions.
The Dutch minister stressed that the commission's report had notably called on Turkey to improve its record on freedom of religious expression.
Bot described the EU's right to halt negotiations in case Turkey backtracks on democracy or human rights standards as a "precautionary measure".
"I hope we will not have to apply it," he said.
11/15/2004 17:33 GMT - AFP