EU Reaches Deal on Turkey-Cyprus Tangle
Two weeks before accession talks with Turkey are set to start, Brussels reached a diplomatic breakthrough on Ankara's refusal to recognize EU member state Cyprus. European Union ambassadors on Monday managed to agree on a draft declaration which tells Turkey to officially recognize Cyprus as a state before it can join the bloc. The deal removes a key hurdle ahead of the start of accession talks with Turkey on Oct. 3. "The way for accession talks should be cleared in time," said a spokesman for the British EU-presidency. This so called "counter-declaration" was necessary because Turkey issued its own declaration in July stating that it had no immediate intention of establishing diplomatic relations with the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government. Back then Turkey signed a customs accord concerning the EU's 10 newest member states, which included Cyprus. However, Ankara has failed to open its ports to Cypriot
vessels, despite the accord. The EU warned Turkey in no uncertain terms, that failure to fulfill the obligations stemming from this customs union could stall accession talks indefinitely.
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