Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-06-16

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Karamanlis stresses satisfaction with EU Council conclusions on Turkey

[01] Karamanlis stresses satisfaction with EU Council conclusions on Turkey

He underlined the European Council's call to Turkey to make progress in fulfilling criteria set by the Union, while stressing that this included a pledge to maintain good neighbourly relations.

In addition, the summit conclusions urged Turkey to avoid any action that would negatively affect the peaceful resolution of differences, Karamanlis noted.

The Greek premier also pointed to references to Ankara's obligations arising from the September 2005 statement, related to the additional customs union protocol, that were contained in the summit conclusions.

Asked to comment on a statements made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that his country would not open its ports and airports to Cyprus ships and planes even if this meant suspending Turkey's accession talks, Karamanlis stressed that Greece supports and encourages Turkey's European prospects.

He pointed out that Ankara had specific obligations, that the agreement between the EU and Turkey was very clear, while stressing that Turkey must fulfill specific commitments that were clear-cut and could not be circumvented.

In response to other questions, Karamanlis expressed disagreement with an "absorption capacity" criterion for enlargement, saying that this might send the wrong message to the countries of the western Balkans.

According to Karamanlis, there was also a question of whether Turkey had a sufficiently strong motive to meet its EU obligations.

"The less clear the end, the more restricted the motive," he told reporters.

Turning to trade regulations between the EU and the Turkish-Cypriots in occupied northern Cyprus, Karamanlis said that this could not be linked to the fulfillment of Turkey's obligations to the EU.

At the same time, he conceded that there were different opinions concerning the regulations within the EU.

The Greek prime minister also denied speculation of cooler relations between Athens and Nicosia, stressing that there was constant and close cooperation with the Cypriot government, good personal communication between himself and Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos and close contact.

"We supported Cyprus' fundamental concerns and the results were positive. This is how things are," Karamanlis emphasised, stressing that there was no room for "alternative interpretations" or facile misunderstandings.

Referring to his recent meeting with main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) President George Papandreou - and the latter's call for a 'new' national strategy toward Turkey - Karamanlis said that he did not hear anything new and stressed that there was a specific strategy that is being implemented, is unfolding and is going well.

European leaders on Friday issued a stern warning to Turkey to agree to the Ankara Protocol, opening its ports and airports to Cyprus, by the end of the year.

"We expect that by the end of the year these commitments should be truly fulfilled," Austrian President Wolfgang Schuessel was quoted as saying after the end of the two-day EU summit.

According to French President Jacques Chirac, meanwhile, Turkey would be "putting in doubt itself its capacity to pursue enlargement," unless it complied.

PM welcomes EU summit's 'good neighbour' criterion for Balkans

Reporting on the results of the European Council, Karamanlis welcomed a decision by EU leaders to link the accession progress of western Balkan countries with their capacity to have and maintain good neighbourly relations with EU member-states.

He also particularly welcomed the Council's decisions for dealing with migration, such as developing adequate infrastructure for supervising EU borders at sea and the creation of a border Rapid Reaction Force, pointing out that Greece had proposed the creation of a European coast guard two years earlier.

He said the meeting between EU heads of state and government had chiefly discussed Europe's future, such as progress on the stalled constitutional treaty that has now been further postponed until 2008, as well as issues like enlargement and migration, or the handling of crisis situations and emergencies.

Karamanlis stressed the importance of a decision taken by EU leaders, who on Friday asked the European Commission to prepare a report on the course of future enlargement for the Union by this Autumn. He said this report would greatly facilitate an in-depth consideration of enlargement, especially as regards the EU's capacity to absorb new members.

The Greek premier emphasised that Greece wanted the EU to protect its cohesion in the future, so that it was able to function on a political, fiscal and institutional level.

Karamanlis on talks with Prodi

The Greek prime minister said that his meeting with his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi in Brussels on Friday had chiefly centre on cooperation between the Mediterranean countries in the EU, noting that Prodi had shown great interest in Greece's efforts in this direction.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article