EU/TURKEY: The European Commission has distanced itself from a suggestion by the Internal Market Commissioner that Turkey should be kept out of the EU to act as a buffer against Syria, Iran and Iraq.
Mr Frits Bolkestein himself appeared to step back from the proposal, with his spokesman insisting that the idea, put forward in a new book by the commissioner, reflected the views of MEPs he had interviewed rather than his own.
"They are not his own views. He referred to the fact that (Turkish) membership of the European Union was a very long-standing commitment on the part of the EU, dating back to the 1960s," the spokesman said.
EU leaders are due to decide in December if Turkey is ready to start formal talks towards joining the EU, following a report in the autumn on Ankara's progress on human rights and other issues.
The former president of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, warned last year that Turkish membership would mean "the end of the European Union". Many European conservatives, including Germany's opposition Christian Democrats, oppose Turkey's bid to join.
The row about Mr Bolkestein's remarks came as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, the Enlargement Commissioner, Mr Günther Verheugen, and the EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, arrived in Ankara yesterday for talks on the relationship between the EU and Turkey.
Turkish co-operation is seen as crucial if a deal on reunifying Cyprus is to be found before the EU expands to 25 member-states on May 1st.
In his book, The Limits of Europe, Mr Bolkestein wrote that the former Soviet republics of Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine also should be excluded - to form a buffer between Europe and Russia.
"In the east, there is a geopolitical need for a buffer zone between the EU and Russia, which might be formed by the countries that do not belong to either bloc," he wrote.
Asked on Dutch television on Sunday if he favoured Turkey's membership of the EU, Mr Bolkestein said his view was "not relevant" but added that allowing Turkey to join could open the door to countries such as Ukraine. "I don't see what kind of arguments we could have to bar entry to Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus or maybe even Georgia."