Former EU commission president criticises commencement

Former EU commission president and Belgian premier Jacques Santer said that Turkey's EU entry negociations initiated on Tuesday were "untimely", while addressing an event in Iraklio, Crete, on Tuesday evening."Europe is a victim of its successes", Santer told the audience of a meeting which focused on "Europe after expansion, problems, the role of regions in the EU". He said the Turks had committed a strategic error in refusing to recognise the state entity of the Cyprus Republic, adding that negociations were now beginning but nobody could guarantee that they will have a successful end. "There are economic and political criteria which it (Turkey) should fulfill in order to gain a place among the '25' but, mainly, there is the criterion relating to Turkey's absorption by the EU," Santer said.