By Daisy Ayliffe - 27th November 2006
European foreign ministers will decide whether to suspend entry talks with Turkey at a summit in December.
Ministers will take a decision on Turkey next month - after the Finnish presidency’s attempt to broker a deal with Turkey over the Cyprus issue collapsed on Monday.
In a speech in Helsinki, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said he had done all he could to find a solution but felt he had come to the end of the road.
“I have worked on the Cyprus issue now with five consecutive presidencies, since 2004. In these two and half years, we have not been able to make progress either on the trade regulation or on the ports issue."
“One could say Sapienti sat – or enough for a wise man,” he added.
The commissioner said he would be making recommendations on how to proceed ahead of a ministerial meeting on December 11.
“Our intention is that the general affairs and external relations council on 11 December should decide on the matter. The commission will make relevant recommendations ahead of that meeting.”
The EU executive is set to report on the possibilities for moving ahead on December 6.
Turkey faces possible suspension of its EU entry talks over its failure to open its ports and airports to Cyprus.
Finland used its six month EU presidency to launch a last-ditch attempt to resolve the row over trade relations between Turkey and Cyprus.
Plans contained proposals for opening a Turkish Cypriot port to trade under international supervision in return for Varosha in Northern Cyprus to be returned to UN control.
Rehn insisted that future plans for a settlement must incorporate the UN.
“To encourage serious movement, the December European council should call for a resumption of the talks on a comprehensive settlement under the UN auspices,” he said.
“It is in the EU’s interest to see a reunification of the island and the end of a conflict on European soil that is now more than 40 years old.”
In December key EU countries such as France, Germany, Austria and Greece will push for tough action on Turkey for failing to implement customs union.
But others such as the UK will urge for lesser punitive measures such as suspending a small number of the 35 negotiating chapters.
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