LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT: EU INCOMPLETE WITHOUT TURKEY

UNCLAS VILNIUS 000573

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL LH TU
SUBJECT: LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT: EU INCOMPLETE WITHOUT TURKEY

REF: VILNIUS 522


1. (SBU) President Adamkus argued for the eventual accession
of Turkey to the European Union in a June 17 interview with
Turkish newspaper Miliyet, according to the Lithuanian press.
Adamkus plans to make an official visit to Turkey later this
week, where he will meet President Sezer, PM Erdogan, and
Turkish chief negotiator for EU accession, Ali Babacan. On
June 16, in the Council of Europe summit, Adamkus argued more
generally for an "open doors" policy in EU accession.


2. (SBU) Tomas Gulbinas, head of the MFA's Common Foreign
Policy Division, told us June 6 that Adamkus had been
planning this statement for a while (reftel) and that
Lithuania had coordinated in advance with its Baltic
neighbors and Poland to arrive at a common position that "no
artificial obstacles should be created for countries striving
for accession." Adamkus's foreign policy advisor Simonas
Satunas told CDA June 19 that the statement was intended to
smooth the way for the President's upcoming visit, hastening
to add that the GOL did not want any special favors for
Turkey during the accession process, either. He noted that
Turkey's recent performance in the meeting its commitments to
the EU "disappointing."


3. (SBU) Turkish CDA Kemal Kaygisiz told us June 19 that
Adamkus's statement was "positive," but added that Ankara
would like the GOL to speak up more forcefully in EU meetings
like the June 16 Council summit on Turkey's behalf. He said
that Adamkus would hear this message from his hosts later
this week.


4. (SBU) The principle of "open doors" for all countries
meeting the EU's membership criteria is the cornerstone of
Lithuania's neighborhood policy. Lithuania sees itself as a
leading advocate within the EU for expansion. Although
Lithuania's primary focus for enlargement is Ukraine, Georgia
and Moldova, the Lithuanian government supports the accession
of Turkey to the EU as a natural consequence of the "open
doors" principle. Lithuanian society does not necessarily
share the political class's enthusiasm for this policy; an
April 27 opinion poll found that barely a third of all
Lithuanians think that the EU should expand to include all
Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus in the
coming decade. (Note: Turkey currently has 80 air force
servicemen and four F-16 fighters deployed to Lithuania as
part of NATO's air-policing operation. These forces will
remain here until July 2006.)
MULL