By Daisy Ayliffe - 19th September 2005
EU ambassadors agreed to a declaration on Ankara's refusal to recognise Cyprus during emergency talks in Brussels late on Monday night.
Turkey’s recognition of Cyprus presented the biggest hurdle to getting talks started on time on October 3.
Under the agreement, which has been backed by Nicosia, Turkey will not have to recognise Cyprus before Ankara commences EU membership talks.
However, such a step will have to take place by the time Turkey joins the EU.
The deal has been hailed as a success by the British who currently hold the rotating EU presidency.
London see sthe agreement as a huge step towards getting talks started as scheduled in Luxembourg on October 3. Negotiations are expected to last for at least a decade.
Last week, the UK thrashed out an accord with more sceptical France over the terms on which talks could start.
With Cyprus now on board, only Austria is left fighting to toughen the EU's negotiating stance towards Ankara.
Cyprus has been split into a Greek Cypriot-controlled south and a Turkish-occupied north since Turkey invaded in 1974, after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
Though Nicosia had called for a timetable for recognition from Turkey, it eventually backed down, happy with the EU statement that Cyprus will ultimately have to be recognised.
The latest row began in July, when Turkey acceded to EU demands to extend its customs union deal with the bloc to all new member states, including the Cypriots.
But in spite of the accord, Ankara refused to open its ports to Cypriot vessels.
Whilst the latest agreement creates no deadline for Turkish ports to be opened to Cypriot vessels it does refer to the "non-discriminatory implementation" of the customs union, which will play an important element in the membership negotiations".
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