Turkey's chief EU negotiator says linking seminary to Cyprus is wrong

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Turkey should approach the reopening of the Halki seminary from a human-rights perspective, Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator said Wednesday.   

"We should handle the Halki seminary issue as a matter of human rights, not because the EU has asked us to," Egemen Bağış said following press reports suggesting that if Turkey re-opened the Halki seminary on Heybeliada, it could then avoid a European Union review on Turkey not having opened its ports to Greek shipping.

The 27-nation European bloc has said it will reassess the country’s accession process if Turkey does not reverse its decision to deny access to Greek Cypriot vessels by the fall. Bağış said it was not right to associate the seminary issue with the Cyprus problem, reported the Anatolia news agency.

However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin said yesterday that no such demands were ever received by the ministry on this issue. He had been asked about news stories on avoiding the debate surrounding the opening of ports to Greek shipping.

Attending the fourth Turkish-Arab Economic Forum yesterday, Bağış said: "We have been sharing the same soil with them for centuries. They are our citizens, who have been paying their taxes and doing their military service. If they have any problem as far as their religious education, then we will try to find a solution to that problem."

Speeding up reforms

When commenting on remarks made by European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, Bağış said that Turkey has already speed up its reforms on the road to the EU. Rehn had said that if Turkey accelerated its reforms, the review process regarding the Cyprus problem could be postponed.

Bağış also noted that there are around 2,500 Orthodox Greeks in Turkey. The Greek minority in Turkey demands the reopening of the Halki seminary, saying that they lack an institution to provide an education to religious officials, who will in turn serve the community.

Speaking at the forum, Bağış also said Turkey’s improving relations with the Arab world were strengthening the country’s hand in its progress toward EU membership.