European Union has opened a new chapter on economic policy in Turkey’s ongoing accession talks, bringing the country a step closer to full membership of the 28-nation bloc.
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On Monday, the European Union also opened the first accession negotiation chapters with Serbia, including on financial control and on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
“European Union needs Turkey as a strategic partner in number of global areas such as migration, terrorism, energy [and] trade”, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said in remarks made alongside his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir, Simsek, and European Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn.
Noting EU questions about the independence of judges and the media, he said Turkey must tackle “a number of serious shortcomings” to speed up its effort to join.
Under the November 29 EU-Turkey deal, EU leaders pledged three billion euros ($3.2 billion) in aid for the more than two million refugees now on Turkish soil from the Syrian civil war.
The last chapter was opened in 2013, but discussions had been in limbo for years over concerns about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian rule, as well as Turkey’s failure to resolve the Cyprus issue.
The 2015 migrant crisis in Europe has improved Turkey’s chances of accession to the bloc. “Turkey has a vast interest in working together with us”.
Ankara applied to join the European Union’s predecessor, the European Economic Community, in 1987, but accession talks began only in 2005.
“The process is still alive and kicking”, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told reporters.
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“We need measures to stop oil products from leaving (Syria)”.
