CDU/CSU vice-President to EuroFora: New German Government to slam Turkey's EU duty failures on 12/09

*Berlin/ACM/- Merkel's party's vice-President on EU/Foreign Policy, Andreas Schockenhoff, said to "EuroFora" that the new Governing Coalition in Germany (2009-2014) wants for the EU to clearly remind Turkey, on December 2009, that, in order to avoid a "Deadlock", "Pacta sund servanda" on Cyprus, Human Rights and other commitments, according to the warning she had issued  in reply to our Question when she became Chancellor, at her 1st Press Conference in the French Presidential Palace "Elysee" in Paris, since November 2005.

This was announced in the framework of a larger exclusive Interview given to "EuroFora" by the Governing party CDU/CSU's vice-President in charge of European and International affairs, MP Andreas Schockenhof,  Chair of the Franco-German Group of MPs, after the new Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, presented the European and Foreign Policy at the national Parliament "Bundestag" in Berlin, for Debates on the New Government's 5 Years Program (2009-2014), opened yesterday and closely followed Chancellor Merkel herself, which concludes on Thursday afternoon.

 The move came after the more than 20 Heads of State/Government Berlin  Summit for the 20th Anniversary since the fall of the Wall which divided the German Capital as the "Green Line" still divides Nicosia, where, in addition to Merkel, French President Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Brown, Cyprus' President Christofias, Greece's PM G. Papandreou, etc., were also present US State Secretary Clinton and Russian President Medvedev.

   The time has come now, on "December 2009", to do "exactly" what Chancellor Merkel had said, since 2005, (in her reply to "EuroFora"s question on Turkey, with the principle that "Pacta sund servanda" : i.e. that what has been agreed, must be kept also in practice), stressed Schockenhof : 

    - "Concerning EU's Enlargment, we (Germany) have to insist that, .. when we design Agreements, we have to fullfil them".

    - "The Turkish State is obliged to fullfil all the principles of the Ankara Protocol (in extension of EU - Turkey's Customs Union, which prohibits discrimination among all EU Member States' related Ships and Airplanes' Freedom of trade), but they didn't deliver, since more than 4 Years".

    Therefore, "we (EU) have to be very Frank and very Open : It's part of European Values to respond to mutual obligations", he stressed

    - "In 2006, certain Chapters of EU Negotiations with Turkey were frozen, with the anouncement that we would reconsider" the situation "on this December" 2009.

    - "So, this has to be done in the meeting for EU Foreign Ministers in December" 7, at Luxembourg, "and my (Governing) ChristianDemocratic Group is expecting them to say very bluntly that the agreed obligations have to be responded to".
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    Schockenhoff was asked by "EuroFora" to build upon his earlier statement at the Bundestag that Turkey's controversial EU bid seems running  "soon" "towards a Deadlock".

    He warned MPs to act timely and strongly, by "expressing our views with Determination during the negotiations", "if we don't want to return again" to "the bad experience  that we recently had with the premature accessions of Bulgaria and Rumania" :  "This is a clear admonition that we must make ourselves, ....  an Exact Picture over the state of the preparation of the candidate, and formulate, on that basis, our expectations at the negotiation process" If it's not done "before the start of the negotiation process", then,  "we must especially, ... express our position with determination ... during the negotiation process".    

 - "In that context", Schokenhof was "grateful to the Foreign Minister (Westerwelle) for not conceding to the "pressure exerted by the Swedish EU Presidency".  but, on the contrary, to "to work further on a carefully formulated (EU) stance".

    This applies not only to Iceland''s and FYROM's candidatures, on which Oli Rehn wanted to decide at the (EU Council ) "meeting of December 7", but especially "on Turkey" :

    If "it's true" that "the negotiations (had) started", back on 2005, "with the goal of accession", it's also certain that "they are Open-ended", i.e. could result into another alternative, (fex. a privileged partnership, etc), he observed. 

    - Indeed,  "already, they run possibly at a Dead point", which may come "soon", Schockenhof anounced.

- The fact that "negotiations do not make headway", raises Questions : - "Does Turkey really wants to get into the EU?"  he wandered., observing, in particular, Turkey's persisting failure to meet its commitments on Cyprus :

- "I must clearly stress that, for (the Governing German party) CDU/CSU expects that (EU) Foreign Ministers take a Decision on the 7th of November, ,that contains the clear political message, that, when EU says: Commitments must be kept" ("Pacta sund servanda"), it seriously means it", he concluded, strongly applauded.

But, the fact "that Turkey has refused for more than 3 Years to apply Ankara Protocol, as EU Commission assessed recently in its 3rd progress Report, does NOT speak for the will, to accept EU Rules and Values", he denounced.

- ""The EU Foreign Ministers", after already "frozing 8 Chapters, on the 11th of December 2006", "planned a new Decision for the coming December (2009)", "should Turkey always not apply the Ankara Protocol",  he reminded. But, "this is not recognizably the case", he critically observed. "That's why" action must be taken now, Schockienhof concluded, attracting widespread applaudissments of many MPs.

- At the same time, "when the Turkish Prime Minister calls the Iranian president Ahmadinedschad a friend in public, although he denies the Holocaust", or agrees on Sudanese President's claim that a Muslim would never commit Genocide, this already shows a lack of understanding of European Values", he added.
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    The new German Government-related move at Berlin's Bundestag timely comes just a day after the Heads of State/Govenrment Berlin's Summit on the 20th Anniverasry of the Wall's fall, where Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi met Chancellor Merkel, and shortly before EU Parliament is due to debate and vote on Political Committee's President, Italian ChristianDemocrat MEP Gabriele Albertini's 2009 Report on Turkey's acts to comply with EU standards later this month in Strasbourg.

    It's a surprising, but significant Fact, that, among more than 600 MPs from various political parties, nobody contested Schockenhof's critical observations on Turkey's failure to comply.

Only one "Green" MP, Dr. Frithjof Schmidt, merely tried to throw a part of the responsibility upon he growing opposition inside the EU against Turkey's controversial EU bid :  - "One should consider whether the (negative) developments in Turkey don't have to do also somewhat with that there the perception prevails, it would become EU joins given Turkey, with regard, among other things, to this new Government's refusal"', he claimed.

Obviously,  Dr Schmidt ...forgot that Merkel's "new government" dates only from 10/2009, and not from 2005, while Turkey's refusal to stop discriminating vis a vis Cyprus-related airplanes and ships continues for almost 5 Years (2005-2009).

  Meanwhile, Diplomatic sources  from the French Presidential Palace "Elysee", speaking to "EuroFora" observed that "some people think that Germany might have somehow changed its position on Turkey", since Merkel was notoriously opposed to Ankara's controversial EU bid, even if this remains to be seen in real practice.     

But they agreed with the "fact" that, as "EuroFora" observed, in the new coalition's compromise Program, that Merkel passed with the Liberals,  the Focus is now put on Turkey's failure to respect EU Conditions, pointing at any EU candidate's duty to "fully implement all its commitments", (as Liberals had already themselves stressed at the eve of September 2009 German Elections).   

And that, in this regard, (contrary to the previous compromise with the Socialists), now, the new, Christian-Liberal Program does NOT claim that Negotiations with Turkey should "continue" whatever happens, leaving, therefore, a possibility for EU - Turkey negotiations to be suspended, freezed or stopped.

    Even front-runner candidate Croatia had its EU negotiations recently "freezed" over a simple bi-lateral issue with EU Member Country Slovenia, and talks re-commenced only after an interim agreement between the two countries. (See relevant "EuroFora"'s Publications with statements that gave us both the Croatian and the Slovenian Presidents, Mesic and Tuerk).
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+ Westerwelle's promisses to "play collectively" in the EU, and "respect Small/Medium EU Countries".
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     All this obviously opens interesting possibilities for timely coordination between all EU Member States' concerned, inclujding Small/Medium EU Countries as Cyprus or Greece, etc., and Germany, before the December 7 EU Foreign Ministers' meeting at nearby Luxembourg, for the preparation of the December 10 and 11 EU Council.

     It also fits well with New German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle's official anouncement, earlier this week at the Bundestag, of his will to "link" Germany's policy "into the European politics" :  - "We want Joint actions.. No "Solo"", he stressed.

    Moreover, "Europe is not only a concert of the Big countries", Westerwelle stressed.  "In Europe, there are No "Small" countries.  ... "Respect before all EU Members States, big or "small" : that should become our style" in diplomacy.

    And he cited as a first example his intention to "visit" not only France, but also Luxembourg, etc.

    - "Now that Lisbon Treaty is applicable, that means that the influence of Germany is more important than before, because we have Majority voting (and not Unanimity between the 27 EU Member States, contrary to the Past), and that means that we have even more Responsibilities for the Small and Medium-sized States, because this concerns Europe", Schokenhoff explained afterwards to "EuroFora".

    - "This was a Principle for the previous Christian-Liberal Government with Kohl and Genscher : whenever we back the interests of Small and Medium EU Member Countries, it's in our interest. So, we don't want to have any predominance of the so-called "Big" EU States. Our Neighbours, the Small and Medium EU Member Countries have equal contributions to European integration".

    - "That's why I congratulated the New (German) Foreign Minister", Guido Westerwelle, "who visited Poland and the Benelux States. This was Symbol for a New Orientation of this new Govenment, compared to the former Foreign Minister", Socialist Steinmeier, he concluded.

    Westerwelle's promises and Schockenhoff's statements at the Bundestag were both made in the presence of Chancellor Merkel.

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