TURKEY: The European Union began its first day of accession talks with Turkey yesterday with political leaders warning of years of tough negotiations ahead.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso welcomed the start of the accession talks but warned that the road towards Turkey's accession was not a foregone conclusion and would be long and difficult.
"Accession, as for every country, is neither guaranteed nor automatic," he said.
President Jacques Chirac of France, a supporter of beginning talks with Turkey, welcomed the start of negotiations but said Ankara would have to conform to EU values if it wanted to achieve full membership.
"Will Turkey succeed? I don't know. What is clear is that she will need time, a lot of time, 10-15 years at least," Mr Chirac.
Mr Chirac also made a veiled attack on domestic critics such as presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy, who favours partnership with Turkey rather than full membership.
"When I hear people say 'the French people don't want it [ Turkish EU membership]', what allows them to say what the French people will want in 15 years' time?"
Austria, which strongly opposed the start of talks before finally relenting amid strong pressure from current EU president Britain, backed its own tough stance.
Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel said he was "proud" of the tough position Vienna had taken in the negotiations for the start of accession talks.
He told the Austrian state broadcaster ORF that Vienna succeeded in ensuring that all candidate countries - Turkey included - would be required to meet the same exacting conditions for EU entry.
Austria had sought to include a reference to the possibility of a future partnership with Turkey rather than only full membership in the negotiating framework. It did not get its demand.
Instead, the text was amended to include a stronger reference to the ability of the EU to absorb Turkey, both economically and politically.
Austria was also satisfied by the start of accession talks with Croatia yesterday. This was central plank of its foreign policy that it linked to Turkey's negotiations.
Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday that the start of talks with Croatia removed any doubts that the Balkan region was on the road to European integration.
On the subject of Turkey, he confirmed that the screening process for accession would begin later this month. During this process, commission officials will draw up a report on all the relevant policy areas where Turkey needs to change its laws and practices to meet the accession criteria laid down by the EU.
However, the prospect for difficult negotiations ahead was underlined by comments by Turkish Foreign minister Abdul Gul, who reiterated that Turkey would not recognise Cyprus until a permanent peace settlement had been found and agreed.
Mr Gul also insisted that resolving the Cyprus issue was a task for the United Nations rather than the EU.
The EU wants Turkey to move towards international recognition of Cyprus during the accession negotiations.
The Cyprus question was a factor during the 30 hours of negotiations required to get agreement on the start of accession talks.
Ankara had expressed concerns over the text of the framework negotiations, which stipulate that Turkey would have to "progressively align its policies towards third countries and its position within international organisations".
Ankara feared that this could force it to accept any future application by Cyprus to join NATO. These fears led to an intervention by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice who telephoned the Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan during the negotiations to convince him that this was not possible.
A spokesman for Cyprus warned yesterday that the EU would not roll out the red carpet for Ankara during the talks.