Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and EU Chief Negotiator Ali Babacan convened a joint session in Ankara on Monday with senior ministry officials to assess Türkiye's progress in its European Union accession process.
Gul noted that roughly seven months had elapsed since the EU formally opened accession talks with Türkiye on 3 October 2005. He said screening sessions covering 17 negotiating chapters had been wrapped up over the preceding six and a half months, and that the government had designated the EU Secretariat General as the central coordinating body for the process.
Gul identified two priorities going forward: continuing political reforms and incorporating EU law and standards into Turkish domestic legislation. He added that a ninth reform package would be submitted to parliament before the summer recess.
Babacan described the screening process as proceeding smoothly and called 2006 and 2007 a critical window for Türkiye to raise living standards and align with EU norms. He stressed that swift progress and close coordination among government institutions would be essential to keeping the accession talks on track.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.