"EU gives Turkey time to recognise Cyprus
02:54 2004-12-17
European Union leaders offered to start membership talks with Turkey next Oct. 3, as long as the Turkish government ends its diplomatic standoff with historic rival Cyprus.
EU governments gave no guarantee that the 10- to 15-year negotiating process -- designed to promote Turkish economic growth and build a bridge to the wider Muslim world -- would lead to full membership.
There is 'not a guarantee for the outcome,' Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told a news conference late yesterday after chairing an EU meeting in Brussels. European Commission President Jose Barroso said: 'This is an offer that Turkey should be glad to accept', informs Bloomberg. "
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