Arguing the case against appeasement

Date: 04/06/1998

If Turkey is to join the European 'family', it must accept the preconditions for EU membership mapped out at last December's Luxembourg summit and make the changes necessary to meet them, insists Greece's 'alternate' foreign minister. By Mark Turner reports

"I THINK that we did a very bad marketing job at Luxembourg," said George Papandreou, almost wistfully.

Greece's 'alternate' foreign minister had emerged last week from yet another Brussels meeting soured by the rumbling dispute between Turkey and the EU.

Ankara's foreign minister had refused to meet his Union counterparts in Brussels, still protesting that European leaders gave his country a raw deal at last December's summit which launched the enlargement process.

Athens' refusal to make any concessions to ease the situation has earned it the opprobrium of all 14 other EU member states.

But Papandreou claims the simmering controversy is based on serious misconceptions. As he sees it, the Luxembourg offer marked a significant step forward for his Aegean neighbour.

"It was a very important document. It was much more than Turkey had had up to then. It gave them a European strategy, it gave them a European conference, it gave them a door to the European Union and it showed them a road map," he insists.

"I think that the fact that Turkey got mixed messages about Luxembourg was a very negative thing - and I will be critical of the United States' statements - because this made what Europe offered to Turkey look as if it were really nothing. Not only that, but it made it look as though it were something negative. I don't see how you can misconstrue it to be negative."

Europe's major objective now, says Papandreou, should not be to appease the Turkish people. It should be to convince them that the Union's preconditions for membership - democracy, observation of human rights, satisfactory relations with its neighbours and recourse to the International Court of Justice - are reasonable and in Turkey's own interest.

But he is unwavering in his belief that these conditions should be absolutely non-negotiable.

"Luxembourg was not something to throw away. What the EU was saying is: 'these are our criteria'. They may have some specificities, but they are European criteria which apply to anyone who wishes to become part of this Union," he says.

"This message is very important. Whether Turkey likes it or not, if it really wants to become part of this family it will have to make these changes. It cannot avoid them. It is not getting into a North American Free Trade Agreement or into some kind of military alliance. It is getting into a very deep political and economic relationship."

Papandreou speaks with the air of a frustrated but patient schoolteacher who realises his pupils cannot be forced to learn if they do not want to.

It is a style respected by his Turkish interlocutors, who describe him as a man they can talk to. His is the voice of reason next to the thunderings of mainstay Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos.

In fact, this calmness inspired many commentators to predict that Papandreou would replace Pangalos after the 1996 elections, especially when he won more votes in Athens than any other candidate.

Of course, being the son of the late Andreas Papandreou, Greece's pre-eminent politician of the Cold War era, and an impassioned supporter of Prime Minister Costas Simitis, was certainly no handicap.

In the event, Papandreou became 'alternate foreign minister': a strange post, theoretically equal to Pangalos, yet clearly a deputy when it comes to defining foreign policy.

Despite his lineage, Papandreou lacks the political clout of his weightier counterpart and seems destined, for the time being, to play second fiddle.

But while what he says is in line with Pangalos' policies, it is pitched in conciliatory tones which promise more room for manoeuvre.

"If any country would be in favour of Turkey's candidacy sometime in the future, most likely Greece would be the most favourable," he says.

"I'd like to be optimistic. We need to continue a dialogue between the EU and Turkey and we need to look for solutions. We had a procedure under the Dutch presidency known as the 'wise men', which was accepted by Turkey. Now they have rejected it because it was a European Union thing, but that could have been a procedure for finding a solution."

Papandreou's English is impeccable, with a genteel American lilt picked up in childhood when he followed his father around the economics departments of US and Canadian universities.

His posture is relaxed, but his hands fidget endlessly. He seems almost unaware of his fingers reaching for a piece of paper, straightening it, clasping together, or pensively framing his face as he explains his beliefs.

"During the Cold War there were very different priorities. Issues of human rights, territorial differences in the region and so on were secondary. I think Turkey has not left this way of thinking. Its position is that since it is a large power and a very important country, no one denies that, these issues again are secondary," says Papandreou.

"But it's very different to be part of an alliance where two big powers are clashing, and to say 'I want to become part of the European Union', which has standards.

"We really need to get that message across. This is a sincere concern. It's not anti-Turkish."

To illustrate his point, Papandreou refers to UK Foreign Minister Robin Cook's recent visit to Turkish human rights leader Akin Birdal. "He was trying to say that these are important values and this person is a good Turk who is doing good for his country. It's in their own interest. This is what has to be transmitted," he insists.

Until things do change, and until Turkey drops its claims on Greek territory or accepts international jurisdiction, it would be a grave mistake to make any concessions to it, warns Papandreou.

That includes unfreezing 375-million-ecu worth of aid under the EU-Turkey customs union.

"The reason this was frozen was because we had the Imia crisis, when Turkey actually took over our territory with its army. There was a breach of borders and that is very important for any country. That is what World War II was about and that is the cause of problems in the Balkans."

If the aid were released, he insists, it would be like telling Ankara these claims were not very important. "Turkey would say that this was a victory, because Europe had capitulated and didn't particularly care about Greece's concerns. Basically, we would be giving a wrong message."

But is Greece not also being obstructive over Imia? Turkish diplomats claim they are willing to go to the International Court of Justice, but over a whole spate of issues. Athens, they say, is only willing to talk about Imia.

Although Papandreou's body language is mild, his eyes flash when he is challenged. They are earnest and intense, with a steady gaze which belies his accountant-like features.

"That was our position," he counters. "But we recently changed and said 'OK, take anything you want, everything you think is an issue'. The response has basically been a 'no', up till now. They basically say 'let's get into dialogue'," he says.

"We are not against dialogue, but if you have an issue like Imia, the dialogue consists of a few sentences: 'This island is mine.' 'We disagree.' How do we solve it? You really don't have much of a dialogue."

Papandreou insists that Turkey should accept general jurisdiction, so that issues of disagreement could be solved by the court. "This is civilised, and a very neutral way of solving the problems, rather than pushing each other around with the military," he explains.

Few would disagree. But Ankara's arguments often sound equally reasonable and, in the meantime, the Union's foreign policy seems to be on the ropes.

But behind the apparent disarray, says Papandreou, there is a remarkable degree of consensus within the EU on the Turkey question.

"There is a general will to try to get a common approach to this which would be effective," he explains. "We are all in favour of a European Turkey. The question is how you get Turkey to become European. There are different opinions on this. We just need to keep on working."

Interview with Greece's 'alternate' Foreign Minister George A. Papandreou.