EU Summit on Enlargement+Neighbourhood: West.Balkans=Acceleration. Turkey= Denunciation of threats

*EU Summit/Brussels/Angelo Marcopolo/- A Sharp Contrast between an Acceleration of EU Enlargement to Western Balkan Countries, from one side, and strong Criticism against Turkey's "threats" vis a vis EU's institutions, on the other side, clearly appeared in the results of this December 2011 EU Summit in Brussels, which also reminded, indirectly but surely, the fact that Ankara's Government still persists in its failure to meet several elementary obligations, contrary to what EU has officialy asked from Turkey to do since many years : 2005-2011...

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EU positive and Fast to move on Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, etc.

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Croatia's EU Accession Treaty Signature, today, (concerning  a Strategic Country with both Mediterranean Sea and Danube River connexions to mainstream EU crossroads, and with a Population of Croats and Serbo-croats of European Culture), "shows that the Idea of European Unificaton keeps its Atttractiveness", stressed from the outset German Chancellor Angie Merkel, after sitting in the Ceremony close to Ms Jadranka Kosor, Prime Minister, and Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia, that she saluted warmly.

- "The European Council looks forward to welcoming Croatia as a New Member as of 1 July 2013", in case of "successful conclusion" of the "pending .. Ratification procedures", the official EU Summit's conclusions confirm.     

- EU Council's President, Herman Van Rompuy, found that EU Heads of State/Government had "a Good Debate on Enlargement", as he said, citting several concrete examples of also other imminent Decisions on more Western Balkan Countries :

* F.ex., "Serbia has done very Important Progress", he noted, anouncing EU's "clear aim to give (to Belgrade) a Candidate status by February 2012, due to be confirmed by EU Council by March 2012".

* Meanwhile, "Montenegro", which "already has a Candidate status", adopted various "EU programmes, (which) now have to be fully implemented", in order to succesfully reach the "aim to open Accession Negotiations by June 2012".
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+ Turkey :  EU "Regrets" "threats", Suspension of Chapters' Negotiation, Time Deadlines to meet outstanding Obligations, etc.
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    On the contrary,  speaking about "Turkey" only inside a Differend chapter, that of "Other Items", (which includes also "Iran", with the expression of "Serious and Deepening Concerns over the nature of (its) Nuclear Programme, .. and the failure to meet its International Obligations", as well as "Syria", where EU "remains deeply concerned by the continued use of Military Force by the regime and the Repression of ..People"), December 2011 EU Summit's official Conclusions are strongly Critical :

    => - "The European Council expresses Serious Concern" "with regard to Turkish Statements and Threats", and "calls for full Respect of the role of the Presidency of the (EU) Council, which is a Fundamental Institutional Feature of the EU, provided for in the Treaty", EU Sumit denounces.  

    The move obviously condemns Ankara Governments' repeated threats to provoke a kind of Diplomatic Crisis, during the 2nd half of 2012, by refusing even to .. speak to EU Member State Cyprus when it will take over the Rotating EU Council's Chairmanship, succeeding to Denmark from July 1st up to December 31, 2012.

    This crystal-clear EU Heads of States/Governments' denunciation is a reply to Turkey's blackmail threats, which include also a demand to hastily find and impose any deal whatever, (even if shaky and risking to provoke tensions, conflicts etc. pushing to the Partition of the island), to the complicated Cyprus' political issue, after Ankara notoriously delayed for more than 30 Years without doing anything since the 1974 Turkish Military Invasion and illegal Occupation of the norhern part of the island, from which more than 190.000 Greek Cypriot Refugees/Displaced persons are still hindered to Return to their ancestral Land and Family Homes or Properties, usurpated by Settlers massively imported from Anatolia in a blatant  and peristing Violation even of the International Penal Court's rules against "War Crimes", in addition to Turkey's persisting Refusal for any Forensic Investigation in order to find out what really happened to some 1.500 Greek Cypriots gone "Missing" since the 1974 Turkish Military Invasion, and continuing Refusal to search to find and punish those Responsible for their Enforced Disappearance, contrary to ECHR's case-law.

    Impossible for an EU of "Values"  to "forget" all that, particularly at the eve of the International Day for Human Rights, which is annualy celebrated each December 10...

    Unless Ankara also aims to slyly impose to the EU, (without even warning, nor giving to the Majority of EU Countries any chance to freely decide and choose), a Culturally, Linguistically and Politically ... "Turkish" EU Chairman as early as since 2012, risking to provoke an obvious "Shock", followed by inevitable political upheavals among EU Citizens whose Large Majority is notoriously opposed to Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, by exploiting an obscure and disputed concession made earlier by Cyprus' President Christofias to the Turkish side by accepting to have a "Rotating" Presidency between a Greek Cypriot taken from the 75% of the population and a Turkish Cypriot taken from the 20% of the legal population of the island, according to a formula notoriously practised in Confederations of independent States, but not in any Federal State, which is currently rejected by all other Cyprus' parties, representing more than 70% of Citizens...
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    + Meanwhile, in another important move, the December 2011 EU Council's official Conclusions also "recall its Conclusions of December 2006, which form the Basis for a renewed Consensus on Enlargement", as it stresses.

    This timely comes shortly after French Prime Minister Fillon warned, while speaking to the European People Party's Bi-Annual Congress, earlier this week in Marseille, that "the current context obviously influences EU's Enlargement process, .. which must take into account our (EU's) effective Capacity to Integrate New Members without Weakening our Joint Ambitions", as he said.

    Indeed, the 2011's official reference to he 2006 EU Summit's conclusions on Enlargement obviously concerns the concept of "EU's Capacity to Integrate New Members", which was adopted then after holding "an in-Depth Debate", following the 2 "No" in the French and Dutch Euro-Referenda which rejected a Draft EU Constitution notoriously because this was the only way for a Majority of EU Citizens to oppose themselves by democratic votes to Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid.

    - "To sustain the integration capacity of the EU, the acceding countries must be ready and able to fully assume the Obligations of Union membership and the Union must be able to function effectively and to develop. Both these aspects are essential for ensuring broad and sustained public support", the EU Summit's conclusions explained on 2006.

    - "The pace" of EU Negotiations "depends on the results of the reforms in the negotiating country, with each country being judged on its own merits", EU Chiefs had warned since 2006.

    But, in this regard, the European Council "regretted", already in 2006, that "the Pace of Reforms has SLOWED DOWN" in Turkey, as its December 2006 Official Conclusions denounce.

    + The "irreversibility and sustainability" of a Democratic "Reform Process" in Turkey needed, already back since 2006, "determined efforts to intensify" it "and to implement it", in order to "ensure" that it doesn't remain only on paper, warned already the December 2006 EU Summit Conclusions, stressing that this need was of "essential".

    ++ Moreover, making an Important move on the History of Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, the December 2011 EU Summit reminded its "September 21, 2005 (collective) Declaration" in reply to Turkish Government's July 29, 2005 provocative, Unilateral Statement against Cyprus, where Erdogan, shortly after a visit to former British Prime Minister Blair in London, (comp. "EuroFora"s founder's NewsReports from the spot), had suddenly started to aggress even by gross slander and threats the New EU Member State, part of the territory of which Ankara still occupies illegally by its 1974 Military Invasion and Occupation Army.

=> In particular, the 2011 EU Summit strongly reminded that its December 2006 Conclusions remained at the basis of an EU consensus on EU' Accession Straregy, and this included wo EU Decisions :

 (A) To "Suspend Negotiations" on 8 Chapters related to Turkey's illegal, discriminatory restrictions against Cyprus, and to Stop closing Chapters until this matter is  settled.

(B) To "Follow up" systematically,  and "Review progress" eventually done" by Turkey to respect its obligations "on the issues covered by the declaration of 21 September 2005" (v. supra).  EU Heads of States/Governments had "invited the (EU) Commission to Report on this  in its forthcoming annual Reports, in particular in 2007, 2008 and 2009", i.e. warning that December 2009 was, for Turkey, a kind of Time Deadline.

Indeed, the EU "Council looks forward to SPEEDY Progress on these Issues", Turkey had been Warned by the EU Heads of State/Government since 2006...
Nevertheless, Ankara did practically Nothing to respect its above mentioned Obligations between EU's 2006 Decision and the December 2009 Time Deadline.

That's why many EU Politicians were notoriously looking upon the 12/2009 EU Summit expecting from it a Strong and appropriate Sanction  for Turkey's persisting Failure to honor its Commitments, (which was, meanwhile, costing a lot to its Victims : f.ex. any Ships and Airplanes using Cyprus' strategic EU island were hindered to cross Turkish Seaports and Airports, etc., while EU's own Credibility was jeopardized).

But, suddenly, the USA-born Global Financial Crisis provokes an "explosion" of some Long-standing Debts in certain Countries, including Greece, provoking a precipitated Change of the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Greek Government precisely on October 2009, which gave an opportunity to USA-born, "Socialist" International's Chair, Giorgos Papandreou to start crying too loudly, in a so excessively Alarmist mood that he notoriously Destabilized Financial Markets' Trust so badly that they rapidly Multiplied and seriously Aggravated the Interest Rates for loans needed by the Greek State mainly in order to pay the Salaries/Retirement benefits of excessive, counter-productive Cushy Job holders and/or abusive Political Lackeys which had been scandalously appointed by former "PASOK" Governments, particularly since the 1980ies, inevitably provoking a growing Debt which was "hidden" on 1999-2001 by those (as, f.ex. the USA) who wanted to strike a "Deal" consisting of Turkey's controversial and unopular EU "Accession" Candidate Status, in exchange of Greece's earlier than normal €urozone entry, even without making the necessary Reforms before that, resulting, later-on, to the 2009 Debt "explosion".

=> Surprisingly, it's precisely since that (initially Crucial in Politics)  moment of the December 2009 EU Summit, that the USA-born Chief of the "Socialist International", Mr. Papandreou, practically .. "High-jacked" all EU Summits' attention, time and energy, obliging them to exclusively focus on that fishy "Debt" without dealing with any other issue, during all these last 3 Years, starting from December 2009, and continuing on December 2010, up to now, December 2011, when this latest EU Summit, at last, seems to have found anew its ..memory, after so many years of a strange, provoked "amnesy", starting to remember Turkey's long overdue obligations ...

=> Will it go on, and advance soon enough on 2012, until it reaches also the long-overdue Conclusions from Turkey's persisting Refusal to respect its Obligations, which seriously threatens EU's own Credibility ?