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Denmark's PM urges Turkey to recognise EU member Cyprus

11/09/2006

"It is frankly odd, that Turkey is negotiating EU membership, but it will not recognise all 25 member states,'' Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli RehnDenmark's prime minister on Thursday urged Ankara to recognise Cyprus and speed up reforms to meet European Union membership requirements.

"It is frankly odd, that Turkey is negotiating EU membership, but it will not recognise all 25 member states,'' Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen.

In its progress report Wednesday, the European Commission threatened to suspend membership talks with Turkey unless it does more to protect human rights and implements a customs pact with EU member Cyprus.

Ankara, however, insisted that Cyprus, which is divided into a Greek-Cypriot south and internationally isolated Turkish-Cypriot north, was a political issue that should have no bearing on Turkey's entry negotiations.

"The conclusions are frankly not uplifting,'' Fogh Rasmussen said of the EU report after a meeting with Czech President Vaclav Klaus. "Over the past year, Turkey has not shown the political will to maintain the speed of necessary reforms.''

Klaus said he discussed the Turkey issue with Fogh Rasmussen "with a slightly meeker voice than Denmark,'' adding he was in favour of EU enlargement.

The commission, issuing a key progress report on EU membership talks a year after opening entry negotiations with Turkey, criticised Ankara's human rights record on torture and freedom of expression, and the pace of political reforms. It also cited a "slowdown'' in its overall reform agenda.