The EU wants Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to give a progress report on reforms when he meets Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Copenhagen next Monday to discuss the Turkish application for membership of the Union.
Turkey says any offer other than a firm date for the opening of accession talks between Turkey and the European Union is unacceptable. ‘What matters for us is a definite date for talks and Turkey deserves this. We do not want to get less than that,’ according to Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.
While Ankara appears to have the support of some EU nations, such as Britain, Italy and Portugal, and strong backing from the United States, many others believe the time is not right.
But Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said last night that Germany and France would take a joint stance and send a positive signal on Turkey's bid for EU membership at the Summit.
Speaking after talks with French President Jacques Chirac, he said Germany and France had also agreed to have a common position at the summit on all other issues relating to the EU's enlargement.
However, there may be a setback in the progress towards membership for other applicant countries, with an open disagreement between member states on financing the expansion.
‘We advise no one to reopen the agreement we reached in Brussels,’ Schroeder said, referring to a finance package agreed by France and Germany in October.
A compromise proposal from the Danish presidency has been rejected as inadequate, especially as regards agriculture, by some of the applicants, notably Poland.
