Brussels, 29/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU heads of state and/or government and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced in Brussels on Sunday 29 November that they are to “re-energise” relations, in particular in relation to Turkey's accession process.
In concrete terms this will mean the opening of negotiations on chapter 17, which relates to economic and monetary policy, at the inter-governmental conference to be held on 14 December. The European Commission will, in the first quarter of 2016, also complete the preparatory work for the “opening of a number of chapters without prejudice to the position of the Member States”, says the joint statement adopted at the EU-Turkey summit.
These are chapters 23 and 24 on the judiciary and fundamental rights and on justice, freedom and security respectively, and chapters 15 on energy, 26 on education and 31 on foreign, security and defence policy. In a draft statement, these five chapters were specifically mentioned but ultimately all reference to them was removed in the final statement at the request of the Cypriot delegation since the island remains divided. In the final statement, the EU and Turkey were therefore more at pains to underline the importance of making progress on resolving the Cypriot crisis. Preparatory work could also begin thereafter on further chapters.
To re-energise the process, “a structured and more frequent high-level dialogue is essential to explore the vast potential of Turkey-EU relations, which has not been realised fully yet”, the statement notes. The two sides agreed to hold regular summits twice a year. While, according to the final statement, these summits will be held “in an appropriate format”, Davutoglu stated that it should be at head of state and/or government level. “Regular summits will provide a platform to assess the development of Turkey-EU relations and discuss international issues”, the statement says.
Davutoglu welcomed this re-invigoration of the accession process for his county, a “European nation”, he underlined. On several occasions, he described this day as “historic”, bringing, he said, “a new start” in the accession process. He added that he will inform the Turkish parliament of the EU's “strong political will” to make progress. French President François Hollande declared after the summit, however, that there was “no reason to speed up or to slow down” the process. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo also underlined that much remained to be done to complete the process and that it will not be concluded quickly.
The EU and Turkey have also agreed to increase high-level dialogue. Regular meetings will, thus, be held on a wide range of topics with the involvement of ministers, commissioners or the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. Discussions and cooperation on foreign and security policy, including tackling terrorism, will also be increased. A high-level economic dialogue mechanism will be launched in the first quarter of 2016. The second high-level energy dialogue will also take place in the first three months of next year. Following completion of preparatory work on upgrading the customs union, formal negotiations “could be launched towards the end of 2016”.
Though the statement makes no mention of human rights, several European leaders spoke of this matter when addressing the press after the summit. “The negotiating framework and the relevant conclusions continue to apply, including respect for European values (and) human rights”, stated European Council President Donald Tusk. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Pascal Hansens, Mathieu Bion and Jan Kordys)