Germany interested in Turkey's European orientation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey criticized the European Union on Tuesday for refusing to extend membership talks to the politically sensitive area of economic and monetary policy, saying it hoped for progress soon. The EU opened talks with Turkey on two new policy areas -- statistics and financial control -- a move that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said proved Ankara's accession bid was and would remain on track. "Turkey is a bridge between Europe and Near East, that is why we are interested in European orientation of this state," he said.



France prevented the start of negotiations on economic and monetary policy to underline new President Nicolas Sarkozy's opposition to the goal of eventual EU membership for Turkey. Turkish Economy Minister and chief negotiator Ali Babacan told a news conference: "We are not satisfied with the technical justifications that were given to us and we hope that there will be progress in this matter during the Portuguese presidency (of the EU in the second half of this

year)."



Babacan said the EU's relations with Turkey, a secular, largely Muslim country, were being closely watched by the rest of the world. If the EU failed to keep the objective of eventual Turkish membership in the talks, he said, "not only Turkey but the EU as well will be damaged from this, at a scale beyond its frontiers and even at global proportions".



The EU was keen to stress that the opening of two chapters proved membership talks were proceeding. "This is quite significant progress, and the process is well on track," said Steinmeier, who chaired the talks and whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.



Turkey has already opened and closed talks with the EU on science, and opened talks on industry. EU legislation is divided into 35 policy areas and there are as many chapters of talks. While EU officials sought to play down the setback over economic and monetary policy as a technical hiccup, Turkish analysts said it was a more serious blow to Ankara's long-term membership aspirations.European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a speech that it was

of paramount importance that last week's EU summit had agreed the terms for a reform of EU institutions to cope with recent and future enlargements. He welcomed the fact that the mandate for a new treaty had included a reaffirmation of the EU's openness to further members, while vowing to take account of the conditions of eligibility agreed upon at a summit last December.



Rehn said the EU was sticking to its commitments to Turkey, Croatia and the rest of the Western Balkans. In an apparent response to Sarkozy's call for the EU to discuss its final borders at a summit in December, he compared Turkey's accession process with Texas joining the United States. It took more than a century -- and a civil war -- for the United States to agree on the role of a federal government, and even longer to develop a set of institutions, Rehn said, Reuters reports.