Turkey takes another small step towards EU

(BRUSSELS) - European Union nations on Monday allowed Turkey to take another small step towards joining the bloc, opening a new policy area for accession discussions, the Swedish EU presidency announced.

Meeting in Brussels, officials from the 27 EU member states agreed to open another of the 35 policy 'chapters' which all EU candidate countries must successfully negotiate prior to membership, in this case the very tricky chapter on environment.

"We have taken the decision to open the chapter on environment," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

That brings to 12 the number of chapters opened since Turkey began its formal membership talks back in October 2005.

Sweden is a strong supporter of Turkey's EU ambitions and had hoped to get the accession process moving again before Spain takes up the presidency in January.

"It shows that Turkey's EU train is on track and moving," said EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, accentuating the positive in a process which is slow moving and without any guarantee of EU membership at the end.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who held a joint press conference with the EU officials in Brussels after the decision, said he was happy the process was moving ahead but said Ankara wanted it to move quicker.

He added that the EU had "no excuse" for not granting Turkey the same visa-free travel rights recently accorded to the citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

In contrast Croatia, which opened formal accession talks at the same time as Turkey in 2005, moved on Monday towards the final phase of its negotiations.

The EU nations agreed to close two more of the negotiating chapters for Croatia, meaning 17 have been completed and just a handful left to open.

Croatia now hopes to conclude the accession talks next year and be in a position to become the 28th member of the EU in 2011.

The 35 policy chapters are aimed at bringing a candidate nation's laws and practices into line with EU norms on everything from human rights to energy.

Turkey's progress has been slow, with only one chapter successfully closed so far, causing much frustration in Ankara.

Eight chapters remain totally blocked due to Ankara's failure to open its borders to EU member Cyprus.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the north in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

On top of that France, Austria, and to a lesser extent Germany, are seeking to offer Turkey a "privileged partnership" with the European Union, rather than full-blown membership, amid concerns over allowing such a large, mainly-Muslim nation into the European Club.

Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis, also in Brussels, rejected the idea of any kind of second-class treatment.

"Turkey expects to join the European Union as an equal member with all the rights and obligations," he stressed.