Bakoyannis: Turkey’s route to EU passes through a united Cyprus

'What we really want is this metamorphism of Turkey to a European democracy, which means also that there are conditions for any European candidate. These conditions or these criteria are not being made up for Turkey. They are European criteria which are there for every candidate member of the EU,' Bakoyannis said

ANKARA - TDN with AP
Monday, September 18, 2006

Greece wants Turkey to become a fully-fledged European democracy, but Ankara must recognize a reunified Cyprus if it wants to become a member of the EU, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said.
Like all other countries seeking to join the 25-nation EU, she said, Turkey must meet the conditions for membership which include respect for human rights and religious freedom, good neighborly relations and a free customs union.
“It came as a surprise to many people that Greece's foreign policy was so clear about supporting Turkey's European aspirations,” Bakoyannis said in an interview on Saturday. “The truth is that for us it's vital to have a European Turkey on our borders, a European democracy on our borders and this is the reason that we are very clearly and very openly supporting it.”
But she cautioned that this did not mean “unconditional support.”
“What we really want is this metamorphism of Turkey to a European democracy, which means also that there are conditions for any European candidate. These conditions or these criteria are not being made up for Turkey. They are European criteria which are there for every candidate member of the EU,” Bakoyannis said.
“I hope Turkey understands that, and implements these obligations ... which it accepted,” she said.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said last Sunday that Turkey must open its harbors and airports to Greek Cyprus in order for talks on EU accession to proceed. He said “no exception can be made” under the EU-Turkey customs deal that obliges Ankara to allow the free exchange of goods with all EU members.
Bakoyannis said that “political will” is needed to restart talks to reunify Cyprus.
A peace blueprint to reunite the island drafted by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was approved by Turkish Cypriots, but rejected by Greek Cypriots in separate referenda in April 2004. That meant only the Greek Cypriot south joined the EU.
Since mid-2005, all the parties have asked Annan to use his “good offices” again to tackle the three-decade division of the East Mediterranean island.
But the secretary-general has moved cautiously, consulting with various officials to test the commitment of Greek and Turkish Cypriots to make the compromises needed to finally reach a settlement. On Wednesday, he told reporters he hopes the peace process will go forward, but said he was still waiting for his envoy in Cyprus to let him know “when the situation is ripe to start all over again.”
Asked how to get “the political will” to start negotiations again, Bakoyannis said both sides have to look into the future and recognize that Nicosia cannot be divided, as it is today.
“The truth is the Nicosia wall is the last wall in Europe,” she said. “People want to live together. They want to look to a prosperous European future and Turkey wants to become ... a European country.”
“All these factors help, I hope, to make ... Turkey realize that its way to the EU passes through Cyprus, passes through a united European Cyprus,” Bakoyannis said.
Fresh negotiations to reunify Cyprus must also address the insecurity that the people on Cyprus felt about Annan's plan and be acceptable to them, she said. “For the Turkish Cypriots, it's really very important to find a solution and to live as EU citizens -- and this is the goal. That's what we want,” Bakoyannis said. “Of course, Ankara has to agree, because you must never forget Ankara has 40,000 troops on the island, and no solution can really be viable if you have an occupation [force] on the island.”
Turkey is under EU pressure to open its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus under a customs union protocol it signed with the EU last year. Turkey refuses to do so, saying the EU should first keep the promise -- made after the 2004 referenda -- to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey will not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration unless a comprehensive solution is found through U.N.-led efforts, though it insists it is open to any solution that would avoid a crisis with the EU over Cyprus.