Turkey's EU bid threatened

EU: Cyprus has threatened to block any EU move to start membership talks with Turkey unless Ankara recognises the Greek Cypriot state and starts withdrawing troops from northern Cyprus.

At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg yesterday, Austria also expressed misgivings about opening negotiations with Turkey, suggesting that the European Commission should make a further study of the impact of Turkish EU membership before EU leaders make a final decision on starting talks in December.

The Cypriot president, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos, said in Nicosia that blocking the start of negotiations would be a major step but he insisted that Cyprus must consider doing so.

"We retain our right of veto. We will decide in December," he said.

Turkey said it wanted the Commission to clarify two elements in its report last week recommending a start to membership negotiations with Ankara.

The Commission said the negotiations would be "open-ended" and would not necessarily lead to EU membership and warned that permanent restrictions on labour movement could be needed to prevent a wave of migration from Turkey.

The Turkish prime minister, Mr Tayyip Recep Erdogan, said he hoped EU leaders would agree to start negotiations without imposing conditions.

"We hope and expect that member-states on 17th December will make a decision without conditions that is not discriminatory and will guarantee the negotiating process.

"This is the important point, that there be no different treatment for Turkey in the decision on opening negotiations. We want justice," he said.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkey's invasion of the island in 1974 and Ankara has never recognised the southern Republic of Cyprus. Greek Cypriot diplomats argue that no country should be allowed to start the process of joining the EU if it fails to recognise one of the existing member-states.