US embassy cable - 05VIENNA2626

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002626 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/ERA, EUR/SE AND INR/EU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ECIN, AU, TU, EUN 
SUBJECT:  EU/TURKEY: AUSTRIANS SHARPEN CRITICISM, BUT 
HOLD TO OCTOBER 3 START FOR TALKS 
 
REF: Vienna 1969 (and previous) 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified. 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Austrian attitudes are hardening on 
Turkey's prospects for EU accession.  Polls show only ten 
percent of Austrians support Turkish entry.  In recent 
statements, leaders across the spectrum have voiced 
increasing skepticism regarding Turkish EU membership. 
Finance Minister Grasser told the Financial Times on July 
18 that EU membership for Balkan aspirants should have 
priority over Turkish ambitions.  Foreign Minister 
Plassnik suggested holding an extraordinary EU Council on 
Turkish entry.  Joerg Haider, chairman of the junior 
coalition party BZO, called for a halt to EU expansion 
(including delaying the 2007 accessions of Romania and 
Bulgaria).  The Turkish statement of July 29 that its 
signing of the EU customs union protocol did not amount 
to recognition of the Republic of Cyprus elicited sharp 
criticism.  Vice Chancellor Gorbach (BZO) said that 
negotiations should not begin until Turkey recognizes 
Cyprus.  Opposition parties SPO and FPO expressed similar 
views.  Chancellor Schuessel, in an August 1 interview 
with the German newsweekly "Der Spiegel," said that the 
EU must take account of its own "absorptive capacity," 
and reiterated that negotiations should consider 
alternatives to full membership.  End summary. 
 
FM Plassnik Proposes Extraordinary EU Council 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik told the daily 
"Kurier" on July 25 that, given the skepticism towards 
Turkish EU membership within most European countries, the 
EU Commission's draft mandate for accession negotiations 
should contain more robust language on "open-endedness," 
including "the option of an alternative to membership." 
In her view, the mandate should also take account of the 
EU's "absorptive capacity as a condition for membership." 
In the interview, Plassnik deplored an apparent "tacit 
agreement not to debate the substance" at the July 18 
GAERC, noting that the informal Foreign Ministers meeting 
in Newport in early September would only address the 
Turkish question on the margins.  She suggested convening 
an extraordinary GAERC prior to October 3 to refine the 
Commission's negotiating mandate. 
 
Finance Minister Argues Against Turkish Membership 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
3. (SBU) Previously, in a July 18 interview in the 
Financial Times, Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser said 
he favored putting aside full Turkish EU membership in 
favor of bringing Croatia "and other Balkan states" into 
the union.  Grasser's blunt statement generated little 
response from his ministerial colleagues.  FM Plassnik 
merely noted that October 3 remained the date for 
starting accession talks with Ankara. 
 
Coalition Partner Says It Wants To Halt EU Expansion 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
4.  (SBU) On July 25, Carinthian Governor Joerg Haider 
and Vice-Chancellor Hubert Gorbach, leaders of the junior 
coalition party "Alliance Future Austria" (BZO), called 
for an "immediate stop to EU expansion and related 
negotiations," and an increased focus on fighting 
unemployment and reforming Austria's economy instead. 
(Until now, Haider, much to the bewilderment of his own 
party and popular opinion, had been a stalwart advocate 
of Turkish EU membership.)  Chancellor Schuessel 
countered that the EU had agreed on a procedure for 
accession talks which included a perspective that 
negotiations with Ankara would be open-ended. 
 
BZO, SPO, FPO harden stances against Turkish entry 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
5. Predictably, Turkey's July 29 statement that its 
signing of an EU customs protocol did not constitute 
recognition of Cyprus also elicited a spate of Turkey- 
critical comments from various political camps.  On July 
31, both the Social Democrats (SPO) and the right-wing 
Freedom Party (FPO) took issue with Turkey's statement. 
Vice Chancellor Gorbach (BZO) said that entry talks with 
Ankara should not begin until Turkey recognizes Cyprus. 
Austria's Greens, generally sympathetic to Turkish EU 
accession, also expressed disappointment over Ankara's 
statement.  Austrian President Fischer said Austria must 
approach the question of expansion, including Turkish 
accession, carefully and responsibly, but that the EU 
must honor its agreements with applicant countries. 
 
Schuessel reiterates conditions for Turkish EU membership 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
6.  (SBU) In recent press interviews, Schuessel has 
supported EU membership for Romania, Bulgaria, and 
Croatia, but warned against the costs associated with 
taking in Turkey.  Schuessel confirmed that he is holding 
to the October 3 start date for negotiations, reiterating 
his conditions: that Turkish accession not overstrain the 
EU's "absorptive capacity" (read: finances); that 
negotiations be open-ended; and that the EU and Turkey 
consider alternatives to full membership.  Schuessel said 
that the EU would also need "other partnership models" 
for Ukraine, Belarus, and the Mediterranean region. 
 
7. (SBU) COMMENT: The GOT statement on non-recognition of 
Cyprus played into the hands of the Turkey skeptics.  Led 
by public opinion, politicians of all stripes are 
increasingly ready to ventilate criticism of possible 
Turkish entry.  The London bombings jolted the Austrian 
public.  Then, inflammatory press statements by a small 
coterie of radical imams set off an overheated debate 
about the role of Muslims in Austrian society.  While no 
one has yet made a direct connection to the question of 
Turkey's EU prospects and these negative developments, 
they have served to undermine the basis for a reasoned 
discussion on the merits of Turkey's EU aspirations. 
VAN VOORST