Turkey membership talks could start in 2005, says Verheugen

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, is to decide by the end of 2004 whether to open membership negotiations with Turkey.

"If the commission rules positively, negotiations will start without delay, in spring 2005," Verheugen told a conference on EU enlargement in Bratislava, adding: "I’ll repeat that this is conditional."

The mainly Muslim but strictly secular state has been an EU candidate since 1999, but this was the first mention by an EU official of a possible date for the start of accession talks.

Verheugen did not mention a separate council of EU leaders in December, which will have the final say on starting entry talks with Turkey, if the commission rules in favour.

"I think that the treaty on enlargement is very clear, any country that is willing to respect our values can apply for membership," said Verheugen, who has said he would support Ankara’s membership bid if it has met the relevant criteria.

Turkey has adopted a raft of significant reforms since 1999 and argues that it has fulfilled the majority of criteria required to open membership talks, but Brussels has said it needs to see the reforms properly implemented first.

Several prominent political figures in France and Germany have spoken out against accepting Turkey into the EU.

One is the former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who chaired a convention charged with drafting a constitution for the EU after it expands to 25 members in May. The other is the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic opposition party, Angela Merkel.