EU members find compromise text on Turkey

Cyprus happy

EU members found a compromise wording on Thursday for the text that will be used as the EU’s “common position” at next week’s Association Council meeting with Turkey, and have thus avoided the embarrassment of having to postpone the meeting.

Cyprus Foreign Minister George Iacovou said that the “European position was very satisfactory for the Cyprus Republic”.

Greek Cypriots are pleased with the wording of the text because for the first time it calls on Turkey to “normalise its bilateral relations” with all member states.

Italy and the UK had objected to the initial draft, which included demands to establish bilateral relations with all member states and to sign and “subsequently implement” the Protocol that extends the EU-Turkey customs union (Ankara Agreement) to all member states.

This, it was argued by the draft opponents, went beyond what was agreed at the European Council in December.

The revised document refers to a range of obligations of Turkey, including the Ankara Protocol and calls on Turkey to contribute to a favourable climate for a solution to Cyprus problem.