US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS1871

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001871 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2014 
TAGS: PREL, TU, CY, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EUR/PDAS RIES MEETING WITH MATTHIAS RUETE 
 
 
Classified By: USEU External Affairs Officer Andrew Erickson 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) On April 26 EUR/PDAS Charlie Ries met in Brussels 
with EU Commission Enlargement Director Matthias Ruete, who 
is responsible in the Commission for Turkey's accession bid. 
Ries emphasized the US view that Turkey should not be 
punished for southern Cyprus' rejection of the Annan Plan. 
He encouraged Ruete and the Commission to look at creative 
ways of recognizing northern Cyprus' yes vote, and 
underscored the US view that Turkey has shown it is willing 
to do the heavy lifting required to fulfill its end of the 
accession bargain with the EU; it is up to the EU to offer 
Turkey a date in December.  Ruete responded that the Cyprus 
vote created a "dichotomy between the political situation and 
the legal reality" of the division of Cyprus and Turkey's 
accession quest.  Ruete also warned that EU member state 
political debate about whether Turkey should join the EU is 
not over.  He noted public comments in France by governing 
party officials that "Turkey is not ready".  He also asked 
that the US deliver a strong message to German opposition 
leader Angelika Merkel that her anti-Turkish position is not 
helpful.  End comment. 
 
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Atmospherics 
And Context 
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2.  (C) On April 26, EUR/PDAS Charlie Ries met with Matthias 
Ruete, Director, Enlargement Directorate for Romania, 
Bulgaria, and Turkey, to review Ries' March 31 meetings in 
Ankara with Turkish government and political leaders on 
Turkish efforts to fulfill the Copenhagen Criteria.  Ries 
underscored continued strong US support of Turkey's accession 
bid, and reminded Ruete that the EU should not let Greek 
Cypriot rejection of the Annan Plan prejudice Turkey's 
accession bid, particularly given Ankara's excellent progress 
on the Copenhagen Criteria.  In the aftermath of the decisive 
vote in the "TRNC" in favor of the Annan Plan, now is the 
time to reward Turkey for progress, not punish it. 
 
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Responding to the 
Cyprus Referenda.. 
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3.  (C) Ruete responded that Greek Cypriot rejection of the 
Annan Plan was a heavy blow to supporters of a date for 
Turkish accession talks.  The GOT had shown that it could do 
the heavy lifting in very difficult political areas; but 
irrespective of who is to blame for the failure of the Annan 
Plan, Turkey is most likely to pay a price.  With the failure 
of the Annan Plan, there is now "a dichotomy between the 
political situation and the legal reality" of the division of 
Cyprus.  Under the Accession treaty, Ruete said, "all of 
Cyprus enters the EU, and Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus"; 
these are realities that now block Turkey's path towards 
accession.  It remained to be seen how the EU could address 
them. 
 
4.  (C) Ries suggested that the EU look at creative ways of 
politically recognizing Turkish Cypriot good will in the 
referendum.  Ruete dismissed any parallel with the Hallstein 
doctrine (governing recognition of East Germany up until the 
1970s).  Ruete noted that even if EU members were inclined to 
recognize "TRNC", the reality was that the twenty-five EU 
members had just signed and ratified an accession treaty 
recognizing Cyprus as the legitimate government of the whole 
island.  For this reason, Ruete said, there are no meaningful 
parallels with Taiwan.  The EU is locked into recognition of 
the Republic of Cyprus alone.  The bottom line for Ruete was 
that "the Republic of Cyprus has a capacity to be a nuisance 
which is enormous," with the legal tools at its disposal to 
back up its position. 
 
5.  (C) The rejection of the Annan Plan in the south was a 
bad thing; there was no question about this, in Ruete's eyes. 
 But Cyprus' accession to the EU still brought positive 
elements for citizens of the "TRNC".  For instance, Turkish 
citizens in the north are in most cases "Cypriot/EU citizens" 
under the terms of accession.  The challenge now for the EU, 
and the Commission, was defining the future of the Green 
Line.  It could go two ways: either it could become "a real 
border" or, Ruete suggested as his preferred alternative, "it 
could become more permeable; this is what I've heard from the 
north".  Ruete speculated that while Cyprus would not take 
the first step in developing a formal bilateral relationship 
with Turkey, it would be easier for Turkey to recognize the 
south; this would be a clever step on the part of the Turks, 
he said, and might lead to some progress. 
 
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The "Turkey in EU" 
debate is not Over 
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6.  (C) Ruete (strictly protect throughout) noted that the 
context of Turkey's accession bid was "evolving rapidly", 
with pressure growing in the European Parliament for a 
factual analysis of the costs and benefits of Turkish 
accession.  The key, said Ruete, was to move off an emotional 
debate on the subject and on to a discussion "why Turkey 
should join the EU."   The political debate in Europe is not 
won.  Ries mentioned that he was getting on a train to 
promote the Turkish case in the Netherlands on April 27; 
Ruete asked for a read-out of Ries' discussions in The Hague, 
which Ries promised to provide. 
 
7.  (C) Ruete asked that the US ensure that German opposition 
leader Angelika Merkel hear a clear message from the US on 
why she shouldn't oppose Turkish accession; Ries said he 
would make sure that Washington was aware of the need to do 
this.  On France, Ruete said that "Chirac's party is making 
increasingly anti-Turkish comments" with the message that 
"Turkey's not ready" to join the EU.  Ruete offered that this 
message might moderate after the EU parliamentary elections 
this summer.  Nonetheless, the Layla Zana case was "playing 
very loudly" in the French press.  The argument is that "a 
country with political prisoners can't be an EU member." 
Ruete had heard that the GOT was working the Layla Zana case, 
and he would be glad if something were done, but he had heard 
this before.  He wanted to see results. 
 
8.  (U) EUR/PDAS Ries did not have a chance to see this cable 
prior to departing post. 
 
Schnabel