EU ambassadors failed to find a breakthrough on a joint negotiating position for Turkey's membership talks and could not agree on a common response to Ankara's refusal to recognize EU member Cyprus.
Britain and France narrowed their differences and presented a joint draft declaration which said the member states "regret that Turkey felt it necessary to make a declaration" in July noting its refusal to recognize the government in Nicosia.
It warned that if Turkey did not allow Cypriot ships or planes "full" access, negotiations could be halted on all transport-related issues.
The draft added that "prior recognition of all member states is a necessary component of accession. Accordingly, the EU underlines the importance it attaches to the normalization of relations between Turkey and all EU member states, as soon as possible."
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island following a short-lived coup backed by the supporters of union with Greece. Ankara supports the Turkish-Cypriot breakaway state in the north of the island, and not the internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government in the south.
The EU argues that any country wishing to join the bloc must recognize all 25 EU members.
Cyprus is demanding Turkey recognize its government and wants a specific deadline for recognition during the entry talks. Britain, which holds the EU presidency, was trying to get a deal on the joint position before the planned opening of membership negotiations with Turkey on Oct. 3.
France, Austria and Cyprus have expressed reservations over talks with Turkey. France and Cyprus have demanded Turkey recognize the Mediterranean island. Austria is pushing for the EU's proposed negotiating mandate to contain a clarification that the outcome of talks should include a lesser option of a "partnership" between Ankara and the EU.
Turkey's entry negotiations are likely to last at least a decade. Diplomats have said the talks could be frozen if Turkey does not move toward recognizing Cyprus or fails to live up to human rights and political reform commitments.
Cyprus threatened on Tuesday to block Turkey's accession talks.
Meeting the last precondition to opening entry talks, Turkey signed a deal in July extending a customs union with the EU to include Cyprus and nine other countries that joined the bloc last year.
Ankara said by signing, it had met all demands for membership talks. However, it upset many EU governments by issuing a separate declaration stating its signature did not mean it recognizes the Cypriot government.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image