Bush lobbies EU on Turkey talks

“We will do our utmost to support the reform process in Turkey but at the same time, I stressed that according to the rules of the EU a candidate country must fulfil certain political criteria to get a date for the start of accession negotiations,” said Rasmussen.

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, who met Bush on Tuesday, kept up Turkey’s high expectation by demanding a firm date in 2003.

But German government sources said EU leaders were not likely to go beyond a Franco-German proposal to open negotiations in July 2005 if the Turks pass a human rights review in late 2004.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash dampened hopes that the Copenhagen summit might achieve a breakthrough on reuniting the divided Mediterranean island, saying his administration could not sign a UN-backed peace deal at the EU summit.

Nevertheless, Rasmussen said Denmark had set aside facilities for Cyprus negotiations at the summit centre at the request of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Danish officials said Annan might fly in himself on Friday if a deal seemed near.

Muslim Turkey’s long-standing EU application has been on ice for years, but Bush’s lobbying for an ally vital in any military campaign against Iraq has given Ankara fresh hope of winning a firm date to open EU talks.