Turkey in the EU?

"We are going to recommend suspending the chapters of negotiations which are connected with commercial restrictions on Cyprus, which is between four and nine chapters out of 35," a

Commission source said.

"Turkey has undoubtedly made progress. But it has still not implemented all obligations it has agreed to," said Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

A spokesman for the Turkish representation to the EU in Brussels, Caglar Cakiralp, said eight "chapters," or policy areas into which the accession talks are divided, would be suspended.

He added that he considered the move too harsh.

"It means you suspend nearly the whole process," he said. "It's too much."

Commission "sending a signal"

The recommendation came after talks brokered by the EU's Finnish presidency on the Cyprus trade issue failed on Monday.

"The commission wants to send a signal that Turkey must meet its obligations," a senior EU official told Reuters news service.

The commission's move won immediate backing from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I view it as right," she told reporters. "It is a strong signal when one says there are chapters which cannot be opened."

Merkel, speaking at a NATO summit in Riga, said it was essential that Turkey implement its pledge not to discriminate against EU states.

The German leader opposes Turkish EU membership and instead calls for Ankara to be given what she terms a "privileged partnership." The German line is echoed by Austria, France and the Netherlands.

The likely halting of EU-Turkey negotiations means that Germany, which takes over the EU presidency on January 1, 2007, could be handed an unwelcome political hot potato.

The EU is, however, deeply divided when it comes to accepting Turkey into it ranks.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking after meeting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at a NATO summit in Riga, said the bloc should not send a negative signal to Turkey.

"We have got to make sure we allow Turkey's accession to proceed," Blair said. "Just at the moment to send an adverse signal to Turkey I think would be a serious mistake for Europe

long-term."

Long-term threats

EU foreign ministers are due to decide on the matter, based on the commission's recommendations, when they meet on Dec. 11.

The policy sectors to be frozen involve the free movement of goods, capital and services, as well as customs, trade, transport, agriculture and fisheries, the sources said. The commission would recommend that negotiations proceed on the other chapters.

So far, Turkey has provisionally concluded talks on one chapter -- science and research.

For months the EU has been threatening full or partial suspension of membership talks with Turkey over its refusal to open its ports to Cyprus.

Stuck in a stalemate

Ankara refuses to do that until the 25-nation bloc keeps its 2004 promise to ease economic sanctions imposed on the island's breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Ankara.

Finland, which is a supporter of Turkey's EU membership, has been trying to resolve the stalemate since September with a proposal that included Turkey opening its ports and the EU trading directly with the self-proclaimed TRNC.

But Helsinki threw in the towel on Monday, saying there was no hope of an agreement during its EU presidency, which concludes on Dec. 31.