Brussels, 30/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - As announced (see EUROPE 10169), on Wednesday 30 June Turkey and the EU opened the thirteenth chapter in Turkey's EU accession talks, a chapter on food safety and phytosanitary issues. “This opening has a huge political importance because it shows that the accession process of Turkey is still alive, that we are moving forward and that the EU maintains the 2005 commitment to Turkey's accession to the EU”, commented Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos after the meeting. Spain ended its six-month presidency of the Council of the EU on Wednesday but Moratinos said it would continue to defend the “strategic importance of having Turkey in the EU”. The Spanish foreign minister said he was “sure” that “most Europeans” including the European Parliament, wanted Turkey to join the EU. Moratinos believes that further chapters can be opened under the Belgian Presidency later this year.
Stefan Füle, EU Enlargement Commissioner, said that the opening of the food safety chapter “reflects Turkey's reform efforts on the ground and was tangible evidence of the EU's commitment to the accession process of Turkey”. He urged member states to have a “zero doubt policy” about the EU's commitment and urged Turkey to have a “zero hesitation policy” about the pursuit of reforms.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmed Davutoglu, who had travelled to Brussels, said that opening the new chapter provided that Turkey was prepared to work night and day to meet the technical and legislative benchmarks imposed by the EU, but “if there are political obstacles, it makes things much more difficult”, referring here to the EU's decision to suspend eight chapters because of Turkey's refusal to open up its ports and airports to ships and planes from the Greek part of Cyprus. Commissioner Stefan Füle said that application of the Ankara Protocol was “key” to getting Turkey's accession negotiations rolling. (H.B./transl.fl)