EU: Ireland is to push for Turkey to be given a date for EU accession talks at the Copenhagen summit next month.
Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the AK party, which came to power in Turkey earlier this month, confirmed Ireland's support after meeting the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, during a brief visit to Dublin yesterday.
A statement from the Taoiseach's office after the meeting said Mr Ahern "assured Mr Erdogan that Ireland will be as helpful as possible in terms of Turkey's EU candidature".
Ireland now joins a number of countries, including the UK, Italy and Germany, who have said they will support the Turkish bid, which will be one of the dominating issues at the summit.
Mr Erdogan said he had a positive meeting with the Taoiseach and that Ireland's positive approach to Turkey had continued since the EU Helsinki summit in 1999. "We asked for Ireland's help for a date for the EU, with negotiations on Cyprus and the European Security and Defence Policy," he said. When asked if Mr Ahern had pledged Irish support for an accession date for Turkey he replied "Yes".
Mr Erdogan said he was "very hopeful" Turkey would be given a date for accession talks but warned of a reaction if no date was given. "If there is a negative result in Copenhagen we would have to reassess our relations."
Turkey has candidate status but wants to start talks to enter the EU. Last month the European Commission announced entry dates for countries from central and eastern Europe but no date was given to Turkey. The Commission said Turkey had not met conditions set down for entry, known as the Copenhagen criteria, especially in the area of human rights. The European Commission's recent Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession said there were still allegations of torture in custody in Turkey.
Mr Erdogan is touring European Union capitals seeking support for Turkey's entry. He is also trying to counter such ideas as those put forward earlier this month by former French president and chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Mr Valery Giscard D'Estaing, who said Turkey must never be allowed to join the EU as it was not a European country.
Along with human rights, Cyprus is another area hampering a date for EU accession talks. Turkish Cypriots still have not accepted a UN plan for negotiations on the island which, it is hoped, will reach a conclusion before the Copenhagen summit on December 12th so that a united Cyprus will be given a date for EU accession talks. Greece has said it would veto any expansion of the EU if Cyprus was not included.
Mr Erdogan is under pressure at home not to allow sovereignty to be given away in Turkish northern Cyprus under the UN plan which envisages a reunification of Greek and Turkish Cypriot-administered areas under a common government with rotating presidency.
Mr Erdogan yesterday remained non-committal on the pressure he would put on the Turkish Cypriots to accept the UN plan but said:
"We will look for ways to find a solution based on mutual sacrifices, mutual compromises and mutual consent."
The Taoiseach welcomed the UN plan and said he hoped they would be carefully considered by both Cypriot communities and by Greece and Turkey. A statement added: "Ireland had a particular interest in Cyprus as we had contributed from the outset to the UN peacekeeping operations on the island."
Mr Erdogan's AK party won a majority in a general election on November 3rd. Although there were fears inside and outside Turkey of the party winning power because of its moderate Muslim roots, it appears less hard-line on Cyprus and more open to going further on changes in human rights legislation and economic reforms than the previous government.
Mr Erdogan was banned from running for parliament in the elections because he had been convicted for inciting religious hatred. As a result he is not the prime minister of Turkey but efforts are under way to change the constitution to allow him to take office.
The Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash said yestersday he was not yet prepared to accept a UN plan to reunite Cyprus. However Mr Denktash did not dismiss the UN draft, saying he first wanted to hold talks to decide whether it could serve as a basis for negotiations.