By
Turkey moved a step closer in its bid to join
the European Union after its government announced fresh talks with the
28-member bloc on Thursday. The talks will focus on economic and monetary
policy.
Turkey’s new Europe Minister Volkan Bozkir tweeted that the EU has agreed to open Chapter 17
of the EU’s acquis communautaire , the
body of common obligations that prospective member states must accept before
obtaining membership, in December.
It is composed of 35 chapters including foreign,
security and defense policy; environment, justice, freedom and security and
free movement of goods. Chapter 17 focuses on the economic and monetary
policies of prospective states and specifies that to become a member of the EU,
nations are expected to keep national budgets stable and conduct their economic
policies with the common interest of the bloc in mind.
Accession talks between the EU and Turkey have
stalled for more than a decade after beginning in October 2005, with Turkey’s
ongoing conflict with EU member Cyprus proving a major stumbling block.
While talks will begin on Chapter 17 in Brussels
on December 14, Cyprus has already vetoed six other chapters ahead of Turkey’s
proposed accession, including energy; the judiciary and fundamental rights; and
justice, freedom and security. Cyprus vetoed the chapters over a number of
grievances, such as the presence of Turkish troops in the country’s
Turkish-speaking north.
Only 13 chapters have been opened thus far and
only one closed — science and research. Negotiations are ongoing over a number
of other chapters as the EU calls on Turkey to implement reforms to meet the
standards required to join the bloc. The European Commission has called for
Turkey to build a stronger democracy while focusing on human rights and its
judiciary, the BBC reported.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel previously said
that she is opposed to Turkey becoming a member of the EU but has promoted
talks, calling Turkish membership an “open-ended issue.” Other European leaders
may not be overwhelmingly in favour of Ankara’s membership bid as Turkey
borders a number of conflict zones, specifically Iraq and Syria, and is
fighting a Kurdish insurgency waged by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in
the country’s southeastern regions.
No comments:
Post a Comment