Greece shelves enmities to back Turkey's EU bid

Greece emerged as a leading backer of Turkey's accession to the European Union yesterday, calling for a date to be set for talks with the candidate country.

A European Commission report released on Wednesday said Turkey was not ready to join a wave of entrants in 2004, and failed to set a date for negotiations with Ankara.

George Papandreou, the Greek Foreign Minister, said the EU summit in Copenhagen in December should be used to send an encouraging signal to Turkey. "A positive message to Turkey must be sent from Copenhagen," he said. When asked if the message could be a date for accession talks to begin, the minister replied: "Why not? We can say even that." Mr Papandreou was among the first foreign leaders to phone his Turkish counterpart, Sukru Sina Gurel to reiterate his support for Turkey's membership.

Divisions remain between the two regional rivals on the Cyprus problem and the Aegean continental shelf but Greece has sought to resolve these by drawing Turkey closer to the EU. Yesterday's signal of support for Ankara's European ambitions is another landmark in a rapprochement between the countries that began at Helsinki in 1999, when Greece backed Turkey's candidacy for the EU.

"Reconciliation between Greece and Turkey must act as a showcase for Cyprus – a model of peaceful co-operation, which proves that the two communities can live together in harmony," Mr Papandreou said after Helsinki.

Cyprus still may sour the détente and its inclusion in the group of 10 countries due to join the EU in two years' time drew contrasting reactions. Turkey insists that resolving the 28-year division of the Mediterranean island is a prerequisite for EU accession, but Wednesday's report supported the Greek stand by calling for inclusion in 2004.