Brussels, 24/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 22 May, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy underlined in Turkey that the European Union wants to reinvigorate its relations with Ankara. “The EU's objective is to reinvigorate this important relationship further, to strengthen the different processes that it involves - including the process of accession, and to deepen its links between the peoples”, he said. “After a pause, this commitment (for Turkey's accession process, which was reaffirmed by the European Council in December) will give new momentum and will soon be translated into tangible progress”, he added, saying that “we should soon see the opening of a new chapter in the negotiations - the first since 2010”. The chapter on regional policy (22) is due to be opened in June (see EUROPE 10785). “And I'm convinced that other tangible measures of this type will follow. The accession negotiations are the main engine of our relationship”, he stated, adding that it was known “in advance that this would take time”.
Van Rompuy also stressed the importance of progress in terms of democracy and of human rights, and he reiterated that visa liberalisation is an “important common objective on our immediate political agenda”.
He said he wanted the EU and Turkey to cooperate more on energy, making the link with Cyprus inter alia. “The discovery of gas reserves off the coast of Cyprus could be an incentive for peaceful reconciliation. A settlement would open the range of options for exploiting the hydrocarbon resources in a more economically advantageous way in order to benefit all Cypriots”, he said, drawing a parallel with the Franco-German reconciliation on the idea of sharing coal and steel. Van Rompuy underlined that “it remains essential to find a global settlement of the Cypriot issue”, which would also help relations between the EU and NATO (see EUROPE 10845) (our translation throughout).
He also held discussions with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan on the situation in Syria and the resolve to strengthen political dialogue on the issues of common interest.
The Turkey-EU Association Council will be held in Brussels on Monday 27 May. (CG/transl.fl)