Brussels, 09/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will no longer have personal charge of the day-to-day organisation of Turkey's accession negotiations with the EU. The Turkish government announced on 8 January that Egemen Bagis, an adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has been appointed to the post of chief accession negotiator. Ankara says that this change is because Babacan, who remains Foreign Minister, is currently too busy with developments in the Caucasus and the Middle East - two regions where Turkey has recently stepped up its political initiatives and mediation efforts. The foreign minister will also have to devote a large part of his time over the next two years to the UN Security Council, on which Turkey took its seat at the start of this year. Babacan will continue to supervise EU accession negotiations, however. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is to visit Brussels on 18-19 January for talks with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, High Representative for the CFSP Javier Solana, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, and others. Erdogan's last visit to the EU institutions was in 2004. It is expected that he will call for accession negotiations, which began in October 2005, to be speeded up. At the moment, only 10 of the 35 chapters have been opened for talks, and only one (science and research) has been provisionally closed. For political reasons related to the issue of Cyprus and France's opposition to Turkey's accession, 12 chapters have been temporarily frozen. (H.B./transl.rt)