Turkey’s admission to EU: Merkel says wants momentum in talks
German Chancellor says she favours opening discussions in a new policy area or “chapter” with Ankara.
BERLIN:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she was sceptical about Turkey’s European Union membership bid, but that she favoured opening discussions in a new policy area or “chapter” with Ankara to bring fresh momentum. Merkel sets off on a two-day visit to Ankara on Sunday, and her remarks, in her regular weekly video message, follow comments by Socialist French President Francois Hollande last week that he was ready to unblock talks with Turkey on the chapter dealing with help for EU regions. Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, launched in 2005, are stalled due to an intractable dispute over the divided island of Cyprus, an EU member, and opposition from Paris and Berlin. Turkey has completed only one of 35 policy “chapters” every accession candidate must conclude to join. All but 13 are blocked and the European Commission says Ankara does not yet meet EU standards on human rights and freedom of speech.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2013.
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