Turkey urges EU to lift political hurdles in accession talks
ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan called on the European Union Saturday to remove political barriers and accelerate the process in his country's bid to join the bloc.
Although Turkey began EU membership talks in October 2005, it has so far opened discussions on only 10 of the 35 policy areas that candidates must successfully negotiate. One of the main stumbling blocks has been a trade row over Cyprus and opposition from bloc members.
"Unfortunately, nearly half of the policy chapters are not being advanced due to an artificial link to Cyprus and due to domestic political concerns in some countries," Babacan said at the opening of a high-level meeting in Ankara to discuss Turkey's roadmap towards EU membership.
"What Turkey achieved in the past few years enables us to understand how swiftly it could conduct the negotiation process should the political problems be removed," he added.
At the core of the slow progress is Turkey's refusal to open its ports to EU-member Cyprus under a customs union pact with the EU, which prompted the bloc in 2006 to freeze negotiations in eight chapters.
Ankara has also refused to endorse the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government and instead recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north of the island, which has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded.
Strong opposition from some EU members to Turkey's accession has also slowed down the process, with Turkish officials accusing in particular France of hampering progress in the talks.
Babacan, flanked by Turkey's new chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis, said that the European Commission had declared Turkey ready to open talks in six more chapters and urged the bloc to act on it.
"Turkey's target in this process is full membership," he said, pledging that Ankara would undertake fresh reforms to align itself with EU norms.
Turkey's reform programme has been almost at a standstill since 2007, paralysed largely by political tensions between the governing Justice and Development Party and secularist opposition forces, among them the army.
But the appointment of a new EU negotiator earlier this month and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Brussels this week -- the first in four years -- were largely seen as signs of a renewed determination to revitalise the accession drive.
25.01.2009
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