EU bereikt doorbraak in onderhandelingen met Turkije over Cyprus (en)

Member states' envoys yesterday removed a major hurdle standing in the way of Turkish EU entry talks as they reached agreement on an EU counter-statement to Ankara's non-recognition of Cyprus.

"The deal is done, the text of the declaration has been agreed upon", said a UK presidency diplomat on Monday evening (20 September) according to Reuters, after a lengthy ambassadors meeting in Brussels.

The EU "counter-declaration" is supposed to represent the EU's answer to Turkey's unilateral declaration on 29 July.

The Turkish declaration stated that its signature to extend a customs agreement with the EU to all new member states - including Cyprus - did not mean recognition of the Mediterranean island state.

Until now, Nicosia had taken a tough stance demanding a concrete timetable for recognition by Ankara, before EU entry talks with the Turks could start as scheduled on 3 October.

But according to press reports, the Cypriots backed down as Monday's compromise text states only that Turkey must recognise Cyprus before it accedes to the EU - and does not set a specific date for the move.

However, German daily Handelsblatt notes that the declaration seems to expect that Ankara will not wait until the very end of its accession talks before recognising Cyprus, with accession negotitaions estimated to take 10 years or longer.

The paper quotes the declaration as stating that recognition is a "necessary component of the accession process".

Handelsblatt further quotes the text as stating that the EU will in 2006 assess whether Ankara has fully implemented the customs agreement it signed with the enlarged EU.

In practical terms, this means that Turkey is obliged to stop blocking Cypriot ships and planes from its territory.

If Ankara fails to co-operate "this will have consequences for the accession process as a whole", the statement reads.

The deal hammered out by EU ambassadors is set to be approved by EU foreign ministers on Tuesday (20 September) - which would make a special ministers meeting on the matter later this month unnecessary.

But before entry talks with Ankara can start, member states still have to reach agreement on the negotiating framework.

Austria is reportedly pushing for a "privileged partnership" with Ankara to be explicitly included in the framework as one possible outcome of the accession talks.

But Vienna appears to be isolated, with all other member states sticking to fully-fledged EU membership as the only goal of the entry negotiations.