EU sceptical about Turkey's Cyprus offer

Friday 8 December 2006 Cyprus has rejected Turkey's offer to open one port and one airport to traffic from the island. Uncertainties remain on the conditions attached to the proposal, one week ahead of a decisive EU summit.The Cyprus issue is currently the main stumbling block in the way of Turkey's EU accession. On 29 November, the Commission recommended the suspension of talks with Turkey for eight out of 35 chapters Turkey had refused to implement the Ankara Protocol and open its trade to vessels from Cyprus.On 7 December 2006, Turkey made a diplomatic move and offered to open one port and one airport to trade from Cyprus, in order to send out a positive signal ahead of an EU summit that will decide on whether to suspend the talks .Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Yiorgos Lillikas, fully rejected the move and said that it was a "mocking towards the EU, since it lacks serious content". He further criticised Turkey for attaching conditions to the offer and not fully meeting its obligations.However, it is uncertain to what extent Turkey's offer to open up one port and one airport to trade from Cyprus is in fact subject to conditions such as a similar move on the part of Cyprus. Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister Erkki Tuomioja stressed that there was a need for clarification. He said: "If Turkey is ready for such an unconditional move, this positive step will influence the [summit] discussions on the continuation of Turkey's EU- accession process."German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier took the Turkish move as a "cautious willingness", according to The Times. He said: "If these proposals are constructive, they could be a positive element for the discussions of the European Council."France reacted cautiously to the proposal. The foreign ministry declared that it was still waiting for confirmation from Turkish authorities and a precise definition of the content of this possible gesture.A UK government spokesperson said that Turkey's offer was positive. She said: "A unilateral move from Turkey would be significant." She added: "It is essential that the EU responds."Commission President José Manuel Barroso said that Turkey's proposal "would clearly be a very important step", but added that the Commission was also waiting for further "clarifications".Martin Schulz from the European Parliament's Socialist Group said: "The deadlock that threatened to derail the whole process of talks between the EU and Turkey has been broken," but added that Turkey still had to respect the Ankara Protocol and open all ports and airports. He called on ministers "to build upon this opportunity for progress in relations with Turkey".Liberal MEP Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said that the proposal was "not enough" and warned that Turkey could not negotiate "one port after another". He concluded that the freezing of all negotiation chapters was the only alternative.