And the Talks Kick Off

Abstract

The Greek application to join the Community was endorsed by the Council of Ministers on 9 February 1976. The Council rejected the Commission’s notion of a preaccession period and instructed it to prepare the way, together with COREPER, for the opening of negotiations as soon as possible. The formal opening of talks took place on 27 July 1976, nearly six months later. The main reasons for the Community’s procrastination arose from internal Community concerns about the practicalities of integrating Greece into existing institutional and financial arrangements, coupled with geopolitical worries over the repercussions on Turkey. During the first half of 1976 the EEC strove to meet Turkish demands while honouring its promises to the Greeks. Although the Council of Ministers had disagreed with the Commission’s decision to include a reference to the Greek-Turkish dispute in its Opinion, the reality was that Turkey was a very important factor that could not be ignored. In order to maintain some form of balance between the two countries, the Nine tried hard to compensate Turkey for the prospect of Greek accession. Only once the Community had decided that it had failed to clear the Turkish hurdle did it decide to move along, halfheartedly, with the Greek talks so that the second half of 1976 was taken up with creating the procedures that would govern the Greek negotiations with the EEC.