EU links Cyprus to Turkey membership bid

“We all live in a political world and the perception is that progress on Cyprus would be helpful,” said Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who currently chairs the EU presidency.

Speaking in Strasbourg, Ahern told journalists that given the political realities, Turkey “would do wisely to take account of the situation in Cyprus.”

His comments came on the eve of the first visit of a head of the EU executive to Turkey since 1963.

Romano Prodi will visit the Turkish parliament to urge the country’s leaders to implement essential reforms ahead of a crucial commission decision on Ankara’s EU membership bid.

The commission must draw up a report for EU leaders by October on whether Turkey meets the necessary criteria on political and economic reforms and human rights to begin formal accession talks.

Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Fillori said the president would praise Turkey for its progress so far but would stress the need to bring key reforms into action.

Speaking in Brussels, he said that it was still “feasible” for Turkey to make the grade, but he added that failure to settle the Cyprus issue would make it “politically very difficult.”

“Several member states would not find it right to open talks with a country that, to put it mildly, exerts control with military troops in one of our member states,” he said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized its northern territory in response to a Greek military coup aimed at bringing the island fully under Athens control. Around 40,000 Turkish troops are still based on the island.

Although the southern Greek-run half of the island is set to join the EU on May 1, Turkish Cypriots will not benefit from EU membership until the island is reunified.

Ankara is under pressure to back a United Nations reunification plan for the island, drafted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Although peace talks between Turkish and Greek Cypriots collapsed last March, hopes of reviving the plan emerged earlier this week when the newly elected coalition government in Northern Cyprus agreed to resume negotiations.