BY SAMI KOHEN
MILIIYET- ‘There’s no need for concern, because this is a first draft which will be discussed and modified many times,’ said one European diplomat on the day when EU Term President the Netherlands announced its draft resolution on Turkey’s status.
Dutch officials are now preparing a second draft, as they had to withdraw the first one after intense discussions. Negotiations on the new one will probably also last for days on end.
I don’t expect the new text to differ substantially from the old one. I think the wording will change but the content will remain nearly the same. The critical point is that it must underline once again that the ultimate goal of Turkey’s membership negotiations will be full membership. In other words, the new text must cease implying that alternate options such as ‘privileged partnership’ exist.
Another important issue for Turkey is Cyprus. The first text included a brief paragraph implying that Turkey should recognize the Greek Cypriot administration. Even as Ankara tries to persuade EU leaders to take this out of the new text, the Greek Cypriots, dissatisfied with the implicit wording of the paragraph, are putting pressure on the EU to make a clearer statement on the issue.
Let’s wait and see what kind of verbal legerdemain EU diplomats will resort to so as to finesse the controversial issue. According to EU diplomats, Ankara should not see such a Cyprus statement as a precondition.
During the course of our negotiations process, unavoidably we will have to face the Greek Cypriots. Inevitably we must establish relations with them. There are certain formulas for defining just how this will happen. In other words, the word ‘recognition’ might be defined in different ways. For example, ‘functional recognition in the context of the EU’ could be one.
In the meantime, the EU is expected to keep its promises on the Cyprus issue. Therefore, the ‘recognition crisis’ has handed a trump card to Ankara, enabling it to put pressure on the EU to fulfill its commitments regarding the island.