DEFENCE: GREECE STILL BLOCKING DEAL WITH TURKEY ON NATO CO-OPERATION.

Greek Defence Minister Yannos Papantoniou said that Greece did not recognise a deal with Turkey late last year to allow the EU access to NATO assets, without which the Macedonia mission would be impossible, in return for some Turkish influence on EU military missions. Mr Papantoniou said Greece was in favour of the mission in neighbouring Macedonia, but could not say when a deal with NATO could be reached. He insisted that the EU-NATO relationship is "not a bilateral issue, it is an institutional issue and should be worked out in an institutional framework". He added that "we set a very dangerous precedent" by abandoning the EU's right to act autonomously when using NATO equipment.He added that "bilateral consultations" like the agreement struck by the UK, the Netherlands, the US and Turkey were "arbitrary" and "cannot produce results". However, as Mr Trillo put it, "it is precisely the conflict between Turkey and Greece that is paralysing this issue". The two countries have several outstanding strategic disputes. "If an agreement is not forthcoming", Mr Papantoniou indicated he was far less worried about stepping outside of institutional frameworks. "I do not think we can take a dogmatic view", he said, adding that the EU "should search for ad hoc arrangements" for the Macedonia mission.Mr Trillo said "the matter is of primary importance", adding that the "entire future" of Europe's CSDP depends on a deal being reached during the Spanish EU Presidency. He noted that Denmark "does not share the Community security and defence objectives", while Greece "is an interested party". Mr Solana said he hoped the dispute "can be resolved rapidly" and that he would "make the appropriate high-level contacts, together with the Presidency, to ensure a positive outcome". NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, who was also in Zaragosa, expressed confidence "that we are now very close to finding agreement". He and Mr Solana will need all their experience of resolving Balkan nationalist squabbles to crack this long-running problem.The mandate of the 700-strong NATO force in Macedonia, to protect civilian observers, runs out at the end of June, but there is an option to extend this until September. The existing force is already made up entirely of European soldiers. The Macedonian government is not expected to object to the EU taking over from NATO.Capabilities.In Zaragoza, Ministers examined progress in fulfilling the European Capabilities Action Plan...