Bruxelles (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The European Union and Turkey reached a historic agreement on Friday on starting talks to admit the large Muslim nation to the bloc after overcoming last minute haggling over Ankara's relationship with EU member Cyprus.
The entry talks, expected to be long and difficult, will begin on October 3, 2005. Under the agreement, Turkey must issue a written statement promising to sign an accord extending its customs union to the 10 new EU members, including Cyprus. This must be done before the proposed October start date for talks next year, EU diplomats said. It will mean granting effective recognition to the Greek Cypriot government, but gives Turkey more time to sell the idea to its people.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected this and instead forced a compromise under which he made a public verbal declaration announcing his readiness to recognize (Greek) Cyprus through the customs union before October 3 next year. EU leaders, in exchange, welcomed this.

Although it had never previously been a condition for starting talks with Turkey, Cyprus, which only joined the EU last May, swiftly objected to the fact that Turkey refuses to grant it diplomatic recognition.

Mr Erdogan insisted the protocol was not a formal recognition of Cyprus. "We did not obtain all that we wanted 100%", he told at a news conference, "but we can say that it was a success."
Turkey, until now, has only recognized the self-styled state of Turkish northern Cyprus. This led to hours of shuttle diplomacy at the summit with Turkey supporters Germany and Britain being called in to mediate.

The EU is imposing a range of new conditions that Ankara must meet over the next 10 to 15 years before it is deemed ready to join the Union. The lengthy EU agenda for Turkey includes major improvements in political and economic structures. EU leaders say Turkey must make additional effort to upgrade standards for human rights, minority protection and rule of law. More challenging for Erodgan are Europe's calls for what many in Turkey will see as a social revolution. Women's rights, religious freedom and difficult historic questions from Turkey's past, including the fate of Armenians during the World War I, still need to be addressed.

The EU decision made clear Turkey could not join before 2015, by which time it is projected to have the bloc's largest population with more than 80 million, giving it the most voting power in decision-making and the most European Parliament seats.