US embassy cable - 03ANKARA2340

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2008 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, EU, TU 
SUBJECT: EU SUMMIT DOCUMENTARY ANGERS TURKS AND GERMANS, 
EMBARRASSES DANES 
 
Classified by Polcouns John Kunstadter; reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: A Danish documentary on the December 2002 EU 
Summit has angered Turks and Germans and embarrassed Denmark. 
 The documentary, covered in the Turkish press, features 
candid comments by Danish and German ministers critical of 
Turkey's EU bid.  The German Embassy has criticized the 
documentary; our MFA contact was philosophical.  A Danish 
diplomat said his government was "naive" in releasing the 
controversial footage.  End Summary. 
 
 
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Turkish Press Highlights Controversy 
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2. (U) The Turkish press April 8 and 9 began running stories 
about a Danish documentary of the December 2002 EU Summit in 
Copenhagen, which has been broadcast on Swedish and Danish 
television.  The coverage has focused on candid comments by 
Danish and German leaders critical of Turkey.  Reported 
highlights include: 
 
 
-- Danish FM Moller says German officials are supporting 
Turkey's EU candidacy in public, but not in private.  He says 
German FM Fischer changed his mind on Turkey three times in 
12 hours.  At one point, he says, Fischer made it clear he 
does not want Turkey in the EU. 
 
 
-- Danish PM Rasmussen says no EU countries supported Turkey 
"at the table," and predicts that Turkey's opponents will 
find a pretext to delay Turkey's accession when its candidacy 
is reviewed in December 2004. 
 
 
-- PM Rasmussen notes that President Bush has called him 
several times to lobby on Turkey's behalf, but claims, "I did 
not accept his demands.  We cannot abide by the demands of 
everybody." 
 
 
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Germans Furious at "Naive" Danes, MFA Calm 
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3. (C) A deeply frustrated Danish diplomat confirmed to us 
the substance of the reports.  He said the Germans are 
"furious" at the Danes; by noon April 9 the German Embassy 
had called him three times to complain.  German Ambassador 
Schmidt publicly denounced the documentary and said Germany 
believes Turkey's EU accession drive should continue in 
parallel with political reforms.  Ayse Sezgin, head of the 
MFA Deputy Directorate General for EU Department, told us the 
documentary will provide ammunition to EU-sceptics in Turkey, 
but ultimately will not affect Turkey's candidacy.  Sezgin 
averred that official decisions count more than private 
comments, and since the Summit both the EU and Turkey have 
continued on course.  This is not the first such EU 
controversy -- for example, Turkey-based EU representative 
Karen Fogg (since departed) and former French President 
Valery Giscard d'Estaing have made controversial statements 
about Turkey.  As in the past, she argued, Turkey would stick 
to its program. 
 
 
4. (C) The Danish diplomat said his Government, in a 
classically Scandinavian spirit of openness, agreed to give a 
documentary film crew total access to internal Summit 
discussions, on the condition that the Government would have 
a chance to edit the material before release.  Unfortunately, 
he said, the Foreign Ministry was not involved in the 
editing.  Those making the decisions on what to cut were only 
considering domestic public opinion.  Denmark is a small 
country not used to being taken seriously, yet suddenly it 
found itself running an important Summit as term president. 
Danish officials were eager to show their leaders working 
with Germans on an equal basis and putting the Americans in 
their place.  They were "naive" and never considered the 
fallout in Germany and Turkey, he said.  Furthermore, he 
averred, the documentary is misleading in that it casts 
Germany as the villain from the GOT perspective, while 
France, the real obstacle for Turkey, gets off scot free. 
 
 
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Comment 
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5. (C) Groucho Marx once defined comedy as someone else's 
grandmother rolling down the hill in a wheelchair, and we 
take this minor fiasco in that spirit.  But this documentary 
will feed Turkish paranoia.  Turks are masters at creating 
conspiracy theories out of thin air; now they have real 
evidence to embellish and build upon. 
PEARSON