Swift deal on aid to Turkey likely after Athens falls into line

Date: 02/09/1999

By Simon Taylor

EU FOREIGN ministers will discuss the best way to provide rapid economic aid to Turkey this weekend, amid signs that last month's devastating earthquake has opened the door to a leap forward in relations between Brussels and Ankara.

Hopes of a swift agreement on a new package have been boosted by Greece's willingness to end its long-standing opposition to giving aid to Ankara in the wake of the tragedy.

Greek Foreign Minister Yannos Kranidiotis told outgoing Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek this week that Athens was prepared to approve financial aid to Turkey provided it was directly linked to clearing up after the earthquake which has claimed more than 14,000 lives.

EU foreign ministers are expected to approve a €40 million emergency aid package at an informal meeting in Finland which begins on Saturday (4 September). They will also discuss other options for providing more financial assistance to Ankara, including a €150-million package of funding currently being held up by the European Parliament.

This aid was originally designed to help Turkey make better use of its four-year-old customs union with the EU, but a spokesman for the Greek foreign ministry said the Commission would have to rewrite the proposal to ensure the money was only used to deal with the damage caused by the disaster.

"It is not a matter of lifting our veto. Whatever funds we release must be related to the earthquake," he said.

Signs of the change of heart in Athens came as leading EU politicians made it clear they were anxious to do more to help Turkey in the wake of the tragedy.

French President Jacques Chirac told Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem this week that he hoped the weekend meeting would agree on significant and generous aid, adding: "We must find a way for Turkey and the EU to collaborate. This tragedy may in the end be a way to advance things."

Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini went further, insisting that Ankara should now be invited to become a formal candidate for Union membership at the December summit in Helsinki.

But Athens made it clear this week that while it was prepared to unblock aid to Turkey, it would not agree to it being given full applicant status at this stage.

Among the options being discussed as EU governments consider how best to assist Turkey is a suggestion that the country could be given access to several hundred million euro in loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Ankara's Ambassador to the EU Nihat Akyol told European Voice this week that his government had already held talks with the EIB on possible financial aid, including loans.

The bank's has a €750-million facility to provide loans for Turkey, but the money has not been released up until now because of Greek opposition. EIB officials say the bank's board will consider whether to free up the money in the next couple of weeks, although a final decision will be taken by EU finance ministers.

Commission officials acknowledge that Athens will be reluctant to be seen approving financial aid which it has blocked in the past. They say it might therefore be easier to get agreement on new funding programmes linked directly to the reconstruction effort rather than seeking to use the EIB facility.

The other main option is to revise the Commission's existing proposal for a €150-million aid programme, which has been held up by MEPs determined to link improvements in Turkey's human rights record to any new financial assistance.

Akyol says comments by Parliament President Nicole Fontaine last week expressing the will to help Turkey are a sign of a new political mood towards the country. "Mrs Fontaine has sent an encouraging message, not just supporting humanitarian aid but also saying that she wants the EU to get involved in reconstruction," he said.

The decision by the centre-right European People's Party to send a posi-tive signal to Ankara is seen as significant as the EPP has traditionally been one of the strongest opponents of EU membership for Turkey.

But the appointment of French Green MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit, an ardent campaigner for human rights, to the Parliament's EU-Turkey committee suggests the two funding plans may still face political difficulties.