Turkish State Minister and chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan attended the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Brussels in May 2006, afterward briefing reporters on Türkiye's accession progress.
Babacan said screening had been completed or was under way on 35 chapters, with teams dispatched to Brussels accordingly, describing the overall process as roughly halfway done. He affirmed that the government aimed to pass five new legal measures, five international conventions, and two administrative regulations before parliament's summer recess.
He noted that Türkiye was drafting its national position paper on education and culture, and that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with the European Commission delegation covering the Tender and Finance Department, which oversees EU-funded projects. Related legislation was expected in parliament within weeks.
On the new Anti-Terror Law, Babacan said the guiding principle had been preserving democratic gains already achieved, citing concern in both Türkiye and the EU over recent attacks. He said, "our basic criteria was not to take a backward step."
Babacan was scheduled to return to Türkiye the same evening but planned a second Brussels visit later in May to speak at the Brussels Economic Forum on 18-19 May 2006.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.