ANY ADDITIONAL SANCTION WILL DAMAGE THE MOTIVATION TOWARDS EU

British Journal Financial Times commented on the speech delivered by Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis at European Policy Centre in Brussels.

In his speech Bagis said, "Many sanctions are already being imposed against Turkey because of Cyprus. Further sanction of any kind will reduce our leaders' motivation towards the EU."

Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus is pressurizing 26 EU member states to tighten measures against Turkey which allegedly doesn't abide by the Ankara protocol. Ankara protocol is an agreement dated 2004, between the EU and Turkey which provides for Turkey's opening of its direct transport lines to Greek Cypriots in return for the start of EU membership negotiations. Turkey refuses to implement the Ankara protocol on the grounds that the EU hasn't kept its promise to end the isolation in the north of Cyprus.

Many EU governments are of the opinion that it isn't reasonable to impose new sanctions on Turkey, considering that the talks which started in September 2008 between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have reached a sensitive stage.

Bagis supported this approach before in a speech he made at a meeting at the European Policy Centre, which is a think tank in Brussels and had said "Any initiative to block these efforts will not benefit anyone."

Bagis also indicated that he didn't share the concerns that Turkey's relations with the EU would come to a dead end for the reason that the EU's new president Herman van Rompuy had previously made a statement in which he had opposed to Turkey's membership as a Belgian opposition politician.

Furthermore, Financial Times journal added that there was a division within the EU on the idea of Turkey's membership.

Source: ABHaber