EU delays Turkish membership talks amid protests

The European Union has delayed a decision over continuing membership talks with Turkey until October as a punishment for the country's crackdown on protesters.

An anti-goverment protester flashes a victory sign in Taksim Square
An anti-goverment protester flashes a victory sign during the clashes between protestors and riot police on Taksim Square Credit: Photo: AFP/GETTY

Turkey's EU entry talks have been stalled for three years and will only begin again if all 27 member countries agree to proceed in four months, with each country wielding a veto.

Any future decision on membership negotiations between Turkey and the EU will also be conditional on the country getting a clean bill of health in European Commission on its fitness to join Europe's club.

"The protests have also shown that Turkey needs further reform," said Eamon Gilmore, the Irish foreign minister, who chaired talks on Tuesday.

Talks were intended to begin this week but Germany, Austria and Holland blocked them because of concerns that opening the negotiations could appear to endorse the Turkish government's tough response to street protests in Istanbul.

Michael Spindelegger, the Austrian foreign minister, warned Turkey it was being given "a certain amount of time in which we can have a look at human rights, freedom of speech".

"We are a community of values. You can't stick the knife in countries like Egypt but not criticise an EU candidate country," he said.

The Turkish government has responded harshly against the tens of thousands of demonstrators who have been protesting on the streets since May 31 against the moderately Islamist government, which many Turks regard as increasingly authoritarian.

Turkey began EU membership talks eight year but has so far has completed only one out of 35 policy negotiation "chapters" before the process broke down in 2010 amid opposition from Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French President.

Restarting the negotiations in October requires unanimity from all 28 EU member states, effectively setting Turkey with a four month deadline to resolve protests without further violence.

The Turkish foreign ministry has welcomed the decision to begin talks as a "step taken in the right direction" while warning that the delay and future threat of vetoes is "inadequate".

"It is an insufficient step but in the right direction in relations with the EU, which have been going through difficult times due to inactivity for a long time," said Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister.

Other countries, including Britain, are concerned that Turkish EU membership has become a political football in German elections, which take place in September, allowing Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to take an electorally popular tough line on Turkey.

"German elections are a good thing, but it cannot be an excuse for postponing everything else in Europe," Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, told AFP.