Biritish Prime Minister Tony Blair today insisted Turkey’s future was in the European Union as British officials in Brussels worked to dispel a looming crisis over next week’s talks on its membership.
In an interview with Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper, the prime minister said he would work hard to help Turkey realise its EU ambitions.
”I sincerely believe that EU membership is Turkey’s future,” Blair — a long-time supporter of Ankara joining the 25-nation bloc — told the paper. ”We shall work towards achieving that.
”How quickly Turkey’s EU train reaches its destination will depend on how fast Ankara can make changes.”
Turkish officials reacted angrily after Austria on Thursday blocked an EU agreement on the ground rules for formal talks on the country’s entry.
Last December, EU leaders agreed that Turkey — which first applied for membership more than 40 years ago — had taken the necessary steps towards qualifying for the talks to begin.
The negotiations had been due to begin on Monday after EU states said Ankara had worked on its human rights record as well as economic and social reforms.
But while the other 24 other member states were happy with the terms, Austria said it wanted a downgraded and associate EU membership for Turkey to be an option.
It is already the case that the start of talks — due to take place in Luxembourg — would not guarantee Turkish EU entry.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul, angered by Austria’s stance, said he would not travel to Luxembourg before being sent a copy of the ground rules for the negotiations.
On Thursday, Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: ”If the EU is not a Christian club, this has to be proven. What do you gain by adding 99% Muslim Turkey to the EU? You gain a bridge between the EU and the 1,5-billion-strong Islamic world. An alliance of civilisations will start.”
In his interview with Hurriyet, Blair backed Erdogan’s argument. ”Europe will benefit from opening up, not from being introverted,” he said.
With Britain currently holding the EU presidency, it was down to the UK’s ambassador to the EU, John Grant, and other officials to attempt to resolve the situation.
EU foreign ministers will hold emergency talks in Luxembourg on Sunday night prior to Monday’s negotiations.
However, there were expectations that Austria — whose government faces tricky regional elections at the weekend, and where 80% of voters oppose Turkey’s entry into the EU — would back down.
Commentators said the country was holding up the agreement because it wanted a positive signal about the EU ambitions of its closest ally, Croatia.
Entry talks were suspended in March after the EU decided Croatia was failing to co-operate properly with the international war crimes tribunal in attempts to put Ante Gotovina, a convicted war criminal, on trial.
Reaching any deal with Austria over Turkish entry negotiations before Monday could require a new commitment from the EU over Croatia’s membership chances.
The Europe minister, Douglas Alexander, today acknowledged there was a ”diversity of opinion across Europe” about Turkey. He said there would be intensive discussions on Sunday and Monday as part of an effort to find a solution acceptable to all sides.
”I believe that we will be able to move forward, although there is clearly a lot of work still to be done,” he added.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Alexander said it was vital that the talks began. He said integrating Turkey into the EU ”would help us tackle many of the most difficult problems that we face in the modern world, whether that is international crime, drug smuggling, terrorism or migration”. – Guardian Unlimited Â