Turkey rocks EU boat in struggle to get on board

Ankara's bid to join the European Union is running into opposition from those who say the Turks will never be Europeans

A sharp downturn in the European Union's relations with Turkey is expected to figure prominently in discussions this weekend among the EU's 15 foreign ministers at the Dutch town of Apeldoorn. As Turkey presses its demands for inclusion in the EU, an open split has developed between those EU countries which say the Turks should never become members and others, including Britain and France, which reject so rigid a stance.

The disagreement has begun to affect EU relations with the United States. US ambassadors in Europe recently received instructions to warn EU governments that the US had "very strong views" on the desirability of keeping EU membership open to Turkey.

However, the view that Turkey's European identity should ultimately find expression in EU membership is clearly anathema in several continental capitals. Last week the leaders of Christian Democratic and centrist parties from Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain bluntly declared that Turkey should not be a candidate for joining the EU even in the long term.

France quickly dissociated itself from the declaration. "It is important for the stability of ... Europe that the Turks retain a European prospect, even if we know that membership would not be realistic in the short term," said France's European Affairs Minister, Michel Barnier.

That view is broadly shared in Britain, which does not agree with some EU countries that Turkey's Islamic faith and heritage should disbar it from membership. "There is a very serious worry in the EU about the way the relationship with Turkey has deteriorated in the last few months," one British official said. "But we say the main obstacle is not cultural or religious, it is the sheer financial and economic set of problems that early Turkish membership would cause. It is a very big country and very backward by EU standards."

Hence Britain distinguishes between Turkey, which it says should be treated as a member of the European family and an eventual contender for EU admission, and central and eastern European states such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. British support for EU membership for the latter countries is unqualified.

To accommodate Turkish aspirations, France is proposing a "European conference" that would bring together EU members with those states excluded from the formal accession negotiations expected to open next year. Turkey would be included in the "conference" group as proof of the EU's commitment not to leave it in the cold.

Whether this will be enough to appease the Turks is another matter. Tansu Ciller, the pro-Western Foreign Minister, said yesterday: "A formation in Europe excluding Turkey will be a loss for the region and threatening to peace."

Some continental EU officials say that Turkey would not have received its public slap in the face last week, if the Turks had not threatened to block Nato's enlargement by linking it to their own desire to join the EU. Like the US, EU governments oppose attempts to hold the enlargements of Nato and the EU hostage to each other.

However, other factors are at play. In Germany, which is home to almost 2 million Turks, the government would find it difficult to voice support for Turkish membership of the EU at a time when unemployment is at its highest level since 1933.

Moreover, many EU governments believe that they would have fewer problems with Turkey if it were not for the attitude of Greece. Turkey concluded a customs union with the EU in late 1995, but Greece has persisted in blocking funds for Turkey that were supposed to flow from the agreement. At Apeldoorn, the majority of EU states are likely to urge Greece to show more open-mindedness, but few think a breakthrough is in store.