Austria Displays Stubborn Streak Over Turkish EU Membership Talks

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

30 September 2005

Austria has dug its heels in over Turkish EU membership talks, scheduled to commence on Monday, insisting that the possibility of less than full membership of the European bloc be included in the negotiating framework as one possible outcome of the talks.

Speaking to the International Herald Tribune ahead of a meeting on the matter on Thursday (which will now be followed by an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Sunday) Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schussel explained that:

"If Turkey does not fulfill the criteria, then Turkey should be bound in Europe by the strongest possible bond and if the union can't absorb Turkey, then we are also looking for the strongest possible alternative bond."

However, Turkey has rejected the possibility of anything but full membership of the European Union as the outcome of the membership talks.

Austria is understood to be keen to see the same flexibility which is being afforded to Turkey extended to Croatia, which was recently blocked from commencing entry talks over what the EU views as unsatisfactory cooperation with the UN's war crimes tribunal.

Meanwhile, although all member states except Austria have given the okay to negotiations beginning next week as planned, the European Parliament on Monday postponed the ratification of a key customs agreement, seeking to send a message to the Turkish authorities regarding their statement of non-recognition of the Greek-Cypriot government when signing the document in question.

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