ANKARA - The senior French envoy in Turkey expressed wish on Tuesday that the European Union (EU) and Turkey would launch negotiations on new chapters.
Ambassador Bernard Emie of France, holding the rotating presidency of the EU, told Turkish MPs that France wanted to open negotiations with Turkey on one or more chapters during its presidency.
France took over the rotating presidency of the union for a six month period, from July 1st to December 31st. The Czech Republic will hand over the presidency on January 1st, 2009.
"We will work together very hard to open negotiations on new chapters," Emie told members of the EU Adjustment Committee of the Turkish parliament.
Emie also expressed pleasure with Turkey`s participation in the Union for Mediterranean.
The Union for the Mediterranean is a proposed community of EU-member states and countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally suggested by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The project envisages cooperation among the EU-member states and Mediterranean-littoral countries in environment, potable water, energy, transportation, sustainable development and fight against illegal migration.
Turkey became an EU candidate country in December 1999. The union launched accession talks with Turkey on October 3rd, 2005.
The EU temporarily opened and closed chapter heading on "science and research" during the rotating presidency of Austria in the first half of 2006.
The Union launched negotiations on three chapter headings -- "enterprise and industrial policy, "statistics" and "financial control" in the first half of 2007 during the rotating presidency of Germany.
Portugal, who took over the EU rotating presidency from Germany in the second half of 2007, opened negotiations on two chapter headings, "consumer and health protection" and "trans-European networks".
EU froze talks in 8 of the 35 chapter headings with Turkey in 2006 on charges that Turkey did not meet its obligations stemming from the Additional Protocol.
(BRC)
(DIP)