ANKARA – (Hurriyet) -- France’s foreign minister on Tuesday called for Ankara to open “easy chapters” in its EU accession negotiations, promising help while not backing away from his country’s opposition to seeing Turkey enter the European bloc.

“The ball is in Turkey’s court,” Bernard Kouchner told a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, in the Turkish capital city of Ankara.
The minister added that France is “ready to help Turkey” with opening three of the 35 chapters that candidate countries must successfully negotiate prior to membership, calling for the chapter on competition to be opened by the end of the year despite approaching general elections in Turkey.
Kouchner said the chapter on social policy and employment should be opened next year and urged Ankara to enact sweeping reforms to open the chapter on public procurement as well.
Speaking during a visit to Ankara on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the fight against terrorism would continue.
“Terrorists should know this very well: They will not be able to intimidate us,” Kouchner said through an interpreter. He added that the recent visit of Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan to Paris was a good example of cooperation and intelligence-sharing in the fight against terrorism.
Later in the day, Kouchner and Davutoglu officially inaugurated the Charles De Gaulle School in Ankara.
“The (2011) elections are nearing, but the reforms should be carried out because they will bring Turkey closer to the EU and the EU closer to Turkey,” he said.
The accession talks have stalled over a number of issues, including Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to shipping from EU member Greek Cyprus and the stiff opposition of France, Germany and some other countries. Brussels, the hub of EU decision-making, froze eight chapters over the Cyprus dispute, while France has individually blocked five chapters on the grounds that their opening would lead to full membership for Turkey. Turkey has thus far opened 13 chapters in the negotiations.
Kouchner did not explicitly address whether Paris would lift its unilateral blockade on the five chapters. “The position of France is known,” he said.
Turkey has sought French support, with Davutoglu urging EU member states to lift what he called “political obstacles that no other country has ever been subjected to.”
“Turkey’s decision on full membership in the EU is a strategic goal,” Davutoglu said. “If the political obstacles are lifted, we’ll swiftly advance... If the blockade is eased, we are determined to close all the chapters within one or two years.”
Progress in Turkish-EU negotiations depends on the lifting of the blockade on opening chapters, the Turkish foreign minister said, adding that his government had called for a conference with all concerned parties to find a solution to the Cyprus impasse.
“But our calls have remained unanswered,” Davutoglu said.
Diplomatic sources said Turkey informed Kouchner in detail about the problems facing its EU talks, adding that if the Cyprus issue is resolved, the relationship between EU and NATO would improve. They said Kouchner again only replied: “You know our position.”
The 55-minute meeting between the two foreign ministers took place in a very friendly atmosphere, the diplomats said. “Kouchner said he came to Turkey not for an official visit but to see his friend Ahmet (Davutoglu), with whom he is meeting twice a week,” one diplomat said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a staunch opponent of Turkish membership in the EU – to the point where he has even argued that Turkey does not belong in Europe – is expected to visit Turkey in the coming months, likely in January, after France takes over the presidency of the G-20 in November.
Photo: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) and Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu pose prior to a meeting in Ankara, on October 12, 2010. (Getty Images)
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