THE Turkish Foreign Minister, Ms Tansu Ciller, criticised the EU yesterday, saying it had failed to honour a bilateral customs union and was unfairly shutting Ankara out of its plans to admit new members.
Ms filler said the one year old customs union had fallen short of expectations.
"This first year, I have to say, has been a bit of a disappointment as far as Turkey is concerned," Ms Ciller said. "It's only fair that we would expect the conditions to be met by the European side."
She said that Turkey, which on account of its poor human rights record has been left out of the EU's plans to expand eastwards, should be the first country to be admitted, rather than being excluded.
"We have protected Europe against the threat of communism. We have protected it for a longtime as an ally of NATO. All this ... makes us only a fair partner in this enlargement," she said, pointing to the fact that the customs union gave Ankara the most sophisticated trade links with the EU.
Greece, which is constantly at odds with its eastern neighbour over territorial and minority rights issues, has vowed to block any moves at the Dublin summit to advance relations with Ankara.
Under the customs union, Ms Ciller said, Turkey's imports from the EU have increased by more than 40 per cent while its exports to the rest of the Union had increased by only 7 per cent.