Swedish FM says EU door still open, expects fresh talks with Turkey

Two weeks before Sweden takes the EU helm, veteran politician Carl Bildt said Russia's decision to withdraw its unilateral bid for WTO membership was "disturbing" and he did not expect a new EU pact with Russia during the presidency.

Despite opposition to a further expansion of the 27-nation bloc by some EU states, Bildt said the issue was high on the agenda.

"The door of the European Union is open," Bildt told Reuters in an interview.

"There have always been significant voices saying no more, let's deepen instead of widen, but at the end of the day when European democracies knock on the door of the union of European democracies, the door has been open."

EU countries agreed unanimously in 2005 to start talks with Turkey on full membership, but the bloc is deeply divided on the issue. France and Germany have revived calls to offer the Muslim country a "privileged partnership" rather than full membership.

The success of parties opposed to Turkey's membership in this month's European Parliament election also dealt a fresh blow to the Muslim country's EU bid.

Bildt, a supporter of Turkey's membership quest, said he held out the prospect of further negotiation areas, or chapters, being opened during Sweden's six-month presidency.

"Yes, I think so," he said, but would not specify how many of the 35 chapters might be opened.

He added talks on the thorny issue of Cyprus later this year would have a major influence on Turkey's EU bid.

RACE AGAINST TIME
Croatia was unlikely be able to complete its EU entry talks by the end of this year and become a member in 2011, said Bildt. Analysts say it is racing against time, not least due to a border dispute with neighboring Slovenia.

"I think it is getting increasingly difficult," Bildt said of Croatia's timetable. "It's not impossible. We'll try, but needless to say there's been some slippage in the schedule."

Bildt also said EU membership was unlikely in 2011 for Iceland, the crisis-hit North Atlantic island nation whose parliament is debating whether to embark on accession talks.

As prime minister, Bildt led talks that eventually saw Sweden join the EU in 1995. After losing an election in 1994, he forged an international career focused on the Balkans before returning to Swedish politics in 2006.

Bildt, a former United Nations special envoy to the Balkans and a vocal critic of Russia during its war with Georgia last year, said Moscow's move last week to drop its 16-year bid to unilaterally join the WTO and only join in partnership with Belarus and Kazakhstan was "disturbing".

It means reaching a final deal on a replacement for the 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the pact that forms the foundation of EU-Russia relations, could be now prove more difficult, he said.

Photo: Reuters