“In the end a compromise was found,” said Balkenende.

BRUSSELS, December 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – EU leaders have agreed to launch qualified membership talks with Turkey, but prospects of Turkey’s accession into the strong 25-member bloc are expected to be much longer.

Diplomats said the EU leaders made it a must for Ankara to explicitly recognize the divided Mediterranean island's government of Cyprus before accession talks start next October.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende were cautiously upbeat after initial late-night talks on the deal, agreed by EU heads of government over dinner Thursday, December 16.

“Let's hope it will be for the best,” said Erdogan, confirming that talks were to resume at 8:30 a.m. (07:30 GMT) Friday, December 17.

But he said it would be difficult for him to persuade the Turkish population of the need to recognize Cyprus, the official said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

EU leaders Thursday trumpeted their offer to Turkey, which has waited for over four decades to enter the wealthy European club.

“Tonight the European Union has opened its door to Turkey,” said European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, who, if all goes smoothly, will be in charge of the negotiations with Turkey from October 3, 2005.

“We can start negotiations with Turkey on the basis of the analysis of the (EU) commission,” he said, underlining that launching the talks does not guarantee they will ultimately lead to EU membership.

Backers of Turkey's EU hopes, notably including EU heavyweights Britain and Germany, have long argued that the country is a vital bridge between Europe and the Middle East .

But the country's detractors, led by Austria, have maintained their doubts over the 25-nation bloc's ability to absorb a huge, agrarian country with one foot in Asia .

They had called for Ankara to be offered a “privileged partnership” as an alternative to full EU membership, should negotiations fail.

In the end a compromise was found which said that if negotiations broke down “then it must be ensured that the candidate state ... must be anchored in the European structures,” said Balkenende.

“This was a very important issue,” he added.

Taking in Turkey, a vast predominantly Muslim nation, would stretch the EU from the rainy shores of western Ireland to the borders of Iraq and Syria and necessitate a redefinition of the very concept of Europe , according to AFP.

Cyprus Recognition

“Let's hope it will be for the best,” said Erdogan.

Thursday offer means Cyprus issue has become one of the biggest stumbling blocks to Turkey's hopes of seeing its drive to be embraced into the European fold bear fruit.

Although Cyprus joined the EU in May, Turkey still refuses to recognize its government, recognizing instead only the Turkish Cypriot northern third of the divided island.

A diplomat said that there was agreement that recognition of Cyprus was effectively a precondition of starting the talks.

“Turkey must accept the Ankara agreement before October 3,” said the diplomat.

Solana said he was confident Turkey would make a “gesture” by recognizing Cyprus before it starts accession talks.

Asked if Turkey would be required to show de facto recognition of Cyprus before launching membership talks, Solana said the issue was still on the table.

“This is a question which is not closed ... but it seems logical that a gesture will be made in order to meet the requirement of accepting all the members of the EU before you begin to negotiate to be part of the EU,” he said.

10 Years

The talks are likely to come with a series of conditions attached to Turkey's EU bid that would be unprecedented for a membership candidate.

The negotiations will last for at least 10 years, they could be suspended in case of serious problems, and membership is not ultimately guaranteed, draft summit conclusions say.

The deal is “achievable” but not guaranteed, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.

Blair huddled for 20 minutes with Erdogan just before leaders of all 25 EU member states sat down to dinner to chew over Turkey's long-standing bid to join their bloc.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said they chose October 3 “to give Turkey the time required to recognize Cyprus, something that is necessary because one cannot join a family without recognizing one of its members”.

“Turkey demanded to have the time to enable its parliament to approve the recognition of Cyprus. We gave it the time,” he added.

A few days before the crunch EU summit, Erdogan said allowing Ankara into the euro bloc will help bridge the yawning gap between the West and Islam.

The European Commission Wednesday, October 6, gave Turkey a green light to start talks to join the European Union, but set a series of tough conditions warning there was no guarantee of success.

Turkey, an official candidate since 1999, has been waiting to join the euro bloc for decades but its efforts have stumbled over its civil rights record.

The Turkish parliament adopted last month a far-reaching overhaul of the country's 78-year-old penal code, clearing a major obstacle to accession talks.