Ankara Prepares for the Summit in Brussels

Erdogan and Gul held lengthy consultation meetings with their ambassadors yesterday and established contact with their European counterparts.

On December 10th, Erdogan met with the EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, Belgium Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

On December 9, Erdogan met with the EU Term President, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Yesterday, during his conversations with European officials, Erdogan stressed, one more time, that Turkey would not accept anything but full membership and refused Barroso’s request for a "gesture" toward recognizing the Cypriot Greek administration. Erdogan said that he will not take a single step toward addressing the Cyprus issue before the EU summit on December 17th.

Erdogan, and Gul reviewed the Turkey’s platform and its message with Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Ambassador Oguz Demiralp, as well as the Turkish Ambassadors to Brussels, Rome, Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, and Amsterdam. Gul and Erdogan discussed many issues with their ambassadors and they concentrated on the French attitude in particular.

Ankara is highly disturbed by the possibility of a 3rd formula, frequently discussed by the French Prime Minister, Jean Pierre Raffarin, and the French Foreign Minister, Michel Barnier. The French want a 3rd formula that envisages an alternate arrangement in case negotiations fail. The French, furthermore, want the formula reflected in the summit results.

Ankara has repeatedly refused the offer. Officials and experts in Brussels contend that "no country has failed in the negotiations. How can we envision Turkey’s failure? If Turkey fails, that can be considered and evaluated then. It is pointless to append the statements as if the negotiations are bound to fail."