EU fails to find Turkey response

[Talon]

EU fails to find Turkey response

European Union ambassadors have failed to agree on a joint response to Turkey's refusal to recognise Cyprus - an issue threatening entry talks.

But an EU spokesman said the 25 ambassadors had made good progress and could meet again later this week.

He said there was no reason to doubt whether the Turkish membership talks would start on 3 October as planned.

The Cypriot government has warned that without Turkish recognition it will not agree to a talks framework.

Some member states continue to oppose the idea of negotiations, while others say Turkey has not yet fulfilled the necessary conditions.

Political suicide

The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Brussels says public support has also slipped across the EU since the decision in December to go ahead with the negotiations.

Some blame the loss of the French and Dutch constitutional referendums in part on the promise of membership to Turkey, he says.

France has been insisting that Ankara recognise the government of the Republic of Cyprus, something that would be political suicide for the Turkish government.

The UK, which holds the presidency of the EU at the moment, appears to have found a compromise to calm the French, but there are many more hurdles to clear before the negotiations can start, our correspondent adds.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/worl...ope/4244422.stm