Membership talks on three more chapters for Turkey

Turkey is to open EU membership negotiations in three new areas in the coming weeks, despite the country’s political crisis and the election of a French president who is against Turkey’s EU bid.

Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday (8 May) that the EU’s goal was still to open three negotiating chapters before the end of the German presidency on 30 June, despite the constitutional crisis in Turkey and fears that Nicolas Sarkozy will block Turkey’s progress toward EU membership,

A spokesperson for Rehn said that the three chapters closest to being ready are economic and monetary policy, statistics and financial control.

Turkey has so far opened talks in two areas: science and research, and industrial affairs.

In total 35 negotiating chapters must be complete before Turkey joins the EU.

After meeting Turkish chief negotiator Ali Babacan on Tuesday, Rehn sought to play down concerns that Sarkozy’s election will scupper Turkey’s membership bid.

Sarkozy has publicly called for a halt to membership talks.

"I trust that France will stick to its commitments undertaken in the course of the EU accession process," said Rehn.

The EU has urged the Turkish government, army and other leaders to respect the rule of law and democratic principles in resolving the stand-off between secularists and the Islamic-orientated government over who should be the next choice of president.

On Monday the first glimmers of a resolution to the crisis came when the government and opposition agreed in principle to amend the constitution to directly elect the president.

The ruling AK party had put Abdullah Gül forward as a candidate to the Turkish parliament, but after millions of Turks protested against the move and parliament blocked his vote, the foreign minister withdrew his candidacy on Sunday.

EU officials said that the Union would not send a mission to observe the presidential and legislative elections if the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) decided to launch its own election observation mission.

A spokesperson for the OSCE said that a team will be dispatched to Turkey before the beginning of June to decide whether the organisation will send a mission.

Turkey is to open EU membership negotiations in three new areas in the coming weeks, despite the country’s political crisis and the election of a French president who is against Turkey’s EU bid.