The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Tayyip Erdogan, says he believes Turkey could start European Union accession talks next March.
"It is our prediction, our wish, that the talks begin in March 2005," Mr Erdogan said yesterday in Brussels, where he is attending a summit of EU leaders.EU leaders are due to decide in December, based on a report from the executive European Commission, whether Turkey has made enough progress on human rights and political freedoms to begin the long-delayed entry negotiations.If they give the green light, Brussels and Ankara are both expected to need some time to assemble their negotiating teams before the talks officially begin. The negotiations are expected to last many years.Commission officials in Brussels were quoted as saying July 2005 was a more likely starting date for Turkey's talks. In an interview for CNN Turk, Mr Erdogan made clear he felt his government had done all it could to ensure a positive answer from Brussels."We have done our work. We have taken serious steps," he said, citing a flurry of political and legal reforms which diplomats say have greatly boosted Turkey's chances."Turkey is also now very close to meeting the economic criteria (for membership)," Mr Erdogan told the news conference, referring to the relative economic stability, including a big reduction in chronic inflation, it has achieved in recent years.Turkey has a population of 69 million people, according to the latest estimate, and 99 per cent of them are Sunni Muslim. Germany is home to some two million Turks, the largest ethnic minority there.A number of European leaders, not least President Chirac of France, have expressed deep reservations at the suggestion of Turkish membership of the EU. Greece may also be expected to attempt to extract some advantage if asked to agree to Turkish membership of the Union.Mr Erdogan said a draft statement on Turkey's progress prepared for the present Brussels summit failed to mention his government's recent reforms, adding that Commission President Romano Prodi had agreed to re-examine the text.Mr Erdogan also accused the EU of dragging its feet in easing the economic isolation of Turkish Cypriots. The EU has vowed to lift all restrictions against the Turkish Cypriot statelet in northern Cyprus after they voted in favour of a UN peace plan to reunite the Mediterranean island.