Schröeder: Conditional Yes is Out of the Question
The German Chancellor told Zaman, "Please convey what I said to your citizens. Our attitude on Turkey’s EU membership has never changed, and will never change."
EU Term President/Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende met with Schröeder yesterday and underlined that a ‘conditional yes’ decision for Turkey is not even on the agenda. "If Turkey meets the Copenhagen Criteria, discussions start," Indicated Balkenende.
The Financial Times Deutschland began the whole ‘conditional yes’ misunderstanding with an article in last Friday’s edition that claims Schröeder said state and government leaders of the EU countries could reach a consensus and agree to a ‘conditional yes’ for Turkey if the EU Commission’s progress report on Turkey suggests starting membership discussions with Turkey. The article alleges that one of the conditions could be the postponement of membership discussions.
Prior to his departure for a three-day visit to France, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to Schröeder’s misunderstood statement by declaring that Turkey cannot accept a ‘conditional yes’.
In light of the developments Schröeder held a press meeting with Balkanende, who is paying an official visit to the German Federal Prime Ministry, and clarified that a "conditional yes" is not even an issue.
Schroeder went on to say that giving a date in December for Turkey’s EU membership discussions does not mean direct membership. The German Chancellor reminded that membership takes times because of the required preparation phase and various other matters that need to be organized. He emphasized that these were the things that he had originally wanted to say; however, his remarks were distorted.
