BERLIN, Dec 6 (AFP) - The European Commission only plans to negotiate European Union membership with Turkey and has no watered-down "Plan B", EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said in an interview published Monday.
"If membership negotiations begin, then the clear aim is membership if the conditions for it are met," Rehn told the German daily Berliner Zeitung.
"There is no Plan B."
EU leaders are expected to agree to allow Turkey to begin accession negotiations when they meet in Brussels on December 16-17.
Critics of the prospect including Austria and Germany's conservative opposition have suggested that the EU should go back on a previous agreement to offer full membership and instead offer a privileged partnership.
But Rehn noted that because the EU had officially considered Turkey a part of Europe since 1963 and a membership candidate since 1999, it had little choice but to honor its commitments.
"That means we have the responsibility to accept the country as a member if it fulfills the criteria," he said.
"It will be a long and difficult process and no one can guarantee that it will be successful."
But Rehn said Turkish EU membership would be a major step forward both for the bloc and the mainly Muslim country.
"It would be a major success if Turkey could combine European values with Islam. It would be a positive example for the rest of the Muslim world," he said.
12/06/2004 10:29 GMT - AFP