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EU re-launches talks with Turkey

BRUSSELS: The European Union re-launched membership talks with Turkey yesterday, ending a long hiatus caused by Ankara’s refusal to respect its trade obligations to Cyprus.

After a half-hour meeting, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan welcomed the move and said the government in Ankara would unveil a plan next month to accelerate the process of reform needed to join Europe’s rich club.

“Today’s accession conference has marked another important step in Turkey’s accession process,” he said. “This step testifies to the determination of Turkey to continue with its process of reform and the EU accession process.”

The conference saw the opening of the second of 35 policy negotiating areas – or chapters – with Turkey. It concerns “enterprise and industry policy”.

The move comes three months after the EU froze eight of the policy areas, or chapters, to punish the government in Ankara for failing to fully extend its customs agreement with the bloc to EU member country Cyprus.

Chapters may be opened but not closed until the dispute is resolved.

“The political message is that the process continues, but not under the same conditions as before,” an EU official close to the process told AFP. “We haven’t completely stopped the train, but it’s moving more slowly.”

When the freeze was announced, the Union also criticised Turkey’s human rights record, especially on freedom of religion and women’s and minority rights.

“EU-Turkey relations are in a difficult period,” Babacan told reporters in Brussels. “It is important for both sides to manage the process in a sensible and sensitive way.”

Turkey’s membership talks, which began in October 2005, have been plagued by difficulties and the only policy chapter opened before was “science and research” in June.

The talks have barely moved since then.

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