EU’s relations with Turkey schizophrenic: Rehn

EU’s relations with Turkey schizophrenic: Rehn

The EU has to keep its promised to Turkey, not just expect Turkey to respect the bloc’s membership requirements.

PARIS - The European Union Commissioner in charge of the bloc’s expansion process has described the EU’s relations with Turkey as being schizophrenic.

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In an interview with the French newspaper Liberation EC Commissioner Olli Rehn said that while the EU expected Turkey to meet the bloc’s accession criteria in regard to fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech, thought and religion, the EU also had to keep its promises to Turkey.

“Our relationship with Turkey is schizophrenic. We are downplaying Turkey’s strategic significance,” Rehn said.

The Commissioner said that as long as Ankara did what was required of it regarding the accession process there was no need for membership negotiations to be suspended.

Rehn said there was a perception in Turkey that the EU did not want the country as a member, a perception that needed to be changed.

“The Turkish public has a disappointment as if the EU did not want them,” he said. “Similarly, the European public has a disappointment as if there had not been enough progress in Turkey’s democratisation. This is a vicious circle that must be broken. Otherwise, we cannot proceed. We cannot accomplish it by suspending the negotiations.”

The implementation of the requirements of the Ankara Protocol were a key issue for this autumn, Rehn said, adding that the current EU term president Finland was continuing to resolve the problem and end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.

© 2006 NTVMSNBC.com