Spanish EU presidency to push Turkish accession bid

(MADRID) - Spain on Monday said it hopes to advance Turkey's bid to join the European Union during its six-month presidency of the bloc by opening the "maximum number" of policy chapters.

"Spain is firmly on the side of Turkey's entry into the European Union," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We have always firmly maintained this position. It's the case today and it will be tomorrow.

"The Spanish rotating presidency hopes to take up and open the maximum number of chapters possible in the negotiation process with Turkey for its incorporation into Europe."

The EU began membership talks with Turkey in 2005 but the process has made slow progress. Only 12 of the 35 policy chapters, which all EU candidate countries must successfully negotiate prior to membership, are open.

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.

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.

Zapatero, whose country assumed the six-month presidency of the EU on January 1, said Turkey hopes to open four chapters.

"We will see how far we can go. It seems an understandable objective on the part of Turkey," he said.

The prime minister said he plans to discuss the issue with the new European Commission on Tuesday.

Erdogan welcomed Spain's backing.

Spain's "support for our integration has been constant and our determination to integrate into the European Union remains."