Although Turkey signed a historic deal with the European Union (EU) on starting accession talks next year, the road for Ankara to realize its long-cherished dream of joining the 25-nation bloc is still hard and long.  

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his fellow citizens to remain united and firm during negotiations on joining the EU, while addressing the nation on television on Friday, the Christmas Eve.

EU leaders had hailed the deal signed on December 17 during a summit in Brussels as a "historic" and "milestone" step, but they indicated that the talks would be an open-ended process, which could take 10 to 15 years, without a guarantee of eventual EU membership.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the decision shows "those who believe there is a fundamental clash of civilizations between Christians and Muslims are actually wrong; that they can work together; that we can cooperate together."

The United States also welcomed the EU's decision to start Turkey's accession talks on October 3, 2005.

"Turkey's full integration into the EU will be good for Europe and the world. The announcement of accession talks brings this step closer than ever," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

French President Jacques Chirac, who has promised a referendum on Turkish membership if the talks succeed, said "The opening of negotiations does not, naturally, mean accession. The road will belong, and difficult, if Turkey is to be able to meet all the conditions necessary to join Europe."

He warned the violations of human rights or other fundamental rights could see the EU suspend entry talks at any moment during the negotiation period.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said he would also call a referendum because bringing a Muslim country into the EU "must not be decided in an ivory tower ... We cannot be indifferent about public opinion."

At a celebration held in Kizilay Square of Ankara a day following the EU decision, Erdogan said the road to EU will be "long and difficult" for Turkey.

Erdogan said Turkey and its people should be aware of their responsibilities to make more progress on the road to a full EU membership.

Turkey, a longtime NATO member, has been legally secular since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the World War I. Supporters of Turkey's entry maintain the country could be abridge between Europe and the Middle East and stand as an example of a democratic state with Islamic traditions.

Opponents say it is too big, too populous, too poor and too culturally different to integrate into the EU, and the bloc risks "enlarging itself to death" by extending its borders to Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Some EU countries fear an influx of culturally different migrants who would compete for jobs.

Observers said if the talks succeed, Turkey will become the largest EU member with a population of 71 million, which is expected to grow as high as 85 million by 2020.

But its per capita income is roughly one-third of the average of longtime EU member states, requiring far-reaching economic reforms.

The most sensitive issue was Cyprus, the east Mediterranean island that has been divided into the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkish troops entered and seized the northern one-third of the island following a failed coup seeking union with Greece.

Only Ankara recognizes the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north, and it does not recognize the official Greek-Cypriot government in the south.

Turkey has insisted in the past that recognition depends on a settlement to reunite the island under a UN peace plan that Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots accepted, but Greek Cypriots rejected in April.

On December 17, Erdogan said agreeing to sign a text extending Turkey's association agreement with the EU to include Cyprus did not mean recognition of its government.

"The extension of the (association) agreement to 25 new EU member countries (including Cyprus) is a technical procedure," Erdogan said.

"This adaptation protocol is in no way a recognition (of the Greek Cypriot government)."

Northern Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat also stressed Turkey's promise to update the 1963 Ankara Agreement with the EU by the time it starts accession talks did not mean a recognition of Cyprus Republic.

"Extension of the Ankara Agreement without solving the Cyprus problem does not mean a recognition of the Cyprus republic. The real recognition can happen after resolution of the Cyprus problem," Talat said.

The EU summit had only agreed to open accession talks with Turkey after Ankara had accepted a compromise formula on Cyprus.

Other issues the EU countries concerned about is Turkey's human rights record, including full rights for non-Muslim minorities, eradication of torture, treatment of women and acceptance of the use of the Kurdish language.

The Turkish government has acknowledged instances of torture persist but denied allegations by human rights groups that it is still widespread, especially in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country.

A leading Turkish human rights organization reported a sharp rise in abuses in the southeast region in October, shortly after the European Commission recommended that Turkey met the EU's political criteria for starting membership talks..

Turkey has been an associate member of the EU since 1963 when it signed an association agreement with the then European Economic Community, and an official candidate for enlargement since 1999. Analysts predict Turkey will spare no efforts to enter the EU, although the road to the goal is tortuous, which was echoed by Erdogon.

"We have a difficult journey ahead of us, littered with obstacles," said the Turkish prime minister on Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2004)