EU enlargement chief to visit Turkey as accession talks stall
The European Union’s enlargement chief will start a three-day visit to Turkey Monday to discuss ways of breaking an impasse in the country’s accession talks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule’s visit will focus on «steps to accelerate Turkish-EU ties and advance the negotiation process» in the wake of last month’s elections that handed the Islamist-rooted AK Party a third straight term in power, the statement said.
Ankara will once again convey its expectations for a visa-free travel regime with the EU, it said.Turkey has warned that it will shelve a draft deal with the EU on the re-admission of illegal immigrants unless the bloc starts talks on a visa-free travel regime for Turkish nationals.Since its membership talks started in 2005, Turkey has opened negotiations in only 13 of the 35 policy areas that candidates must complete, with no new chapter opened over the past year.
Eight chapters remain frozen as a sanction for Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels under a trade pact with the EU, with France and Cyprus blocking several others. France and Germany oppose Turkey’s membership, saying it should settle for a «privileged partnership.»
07/11/2011
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: negotiations, Turkey
