Turkey asks EU to honour pledges after Sarkozy win

ANKARA, May 8 (Reuters) Turkey urged the European Union today to honour its pledges to the candidate state, two days after Nicolas Sarkozy, an outspoken opponent of Ankara's membership bid, won France's presidential election.

Ankara has been negotiating membership since 2005, though is not expected to join the wealthy bloc for another decade or so.

''Our expectation from the EU and its member states is to avoid statements and attitudes that would negatively affect our accession process,'' Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement to mark Europe Day on Wednesday.

During the French election campaign, Sarkozy repeatedly stressed his opposition to Turkish membership in the EU.

''It is not an easy process. As a matter of fact, it is nothing less than the transformation of the country in all its dimensions in correspondence with our nation's demands to change,'' Erdogan said.

In a similar statement, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said: ''We expect the EU to remain bound by existing commitments.'' Turkey's entry talks have been dogged by disputes over Cyprus, freedom of expression, and other issues. The EU has suspended talks on eight of 35 policy areas, or ''chapters'', due to Ankara's refusal to open its ports to EU member Cyprus.

Public support in Turkey for EU membership has fallen amid a perception that the EU does not really want to admit the large Muslim country -- a view reinforced by Sarkozy's election.

Sarkozy has said Turkey should instead be offered a leading role in a proposed forum that would group Mediterranean nations.

France cannot single-handedly force an end to Turkey's EU drive. That would require unanimity among the 27 member states, and some of them, such as Britain, strongly back Ankara's bid.

But Sarkozy, probably backed by other Turkey sceptics such as Austria and Germany, could refuse to allow chapters to be opened and closed, effectively freezing the bid in its tracks.

Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, often at loggerheads with Erdogan's government over domestic issues, endorsed his appeal to the EU over Ankara's EU candidacy.

''We hope the EU will fulfil its responsibilities and obligations regarding our country's accession process,'' he said.

REUTERS SS RK2212