In statements after an EU General Affairs Council (GAC) that failed to bridge differences over Turkey, Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Tuesday emphasised the need to keep channels of communication with Ankara open. Greece wants Turkey to become European, he noted, but it was ultimately up to Turkey itself to become European or lead itself outside the EU.
Greece opposed the freezing of EU accession talks with Turkey, as proposed by Austria, Kotzias said, noting that such a policy of exclusion from European processes would lead Turkey to isolation. At the same time, Turkey must not act as a revisionary force with references to the Lausanne Treaty or statements disputing the Greekness of Aegean islands, he added.
The Greek minister also welcomed the Council’s adoption of Greek positions concerning the start of accession talks with Albania, including paragraphs on the fight against corruption and organised crime, on the recognition of minority rights throughout Albanian territory and references to the importance of good neighbourly relations.
Kotzias said that Greece was in favour of Albania’s EU accession and believed it would have significant economic and geographic benefits for both Albania and the stability of the western Balkans. He noted, however, that Albania’s accession to the EU must be based on European values.
With respect to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the Greek minister said that preserving good neighbourly relations was of key importance in the EU. He also noted the positive role of confidence-building measures and the need for a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue.
The GAC reached no conclusions regarding the candidate-states for EU enlargement, including Turkey, while ministers were divided over whether to freeze accession talks with Ankara or to continue dialogue. In addition to Austria, criticism over Turkey’s human rights record were voiced by the Netherlands, which however proposed the freezing of only specific chapters of accession talks.
The majority of countries said that channels of communication should remain open and also identified human rights and press freedoms as the biggest problems.
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