EU Says Turkish Accession Talks On Track

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (file photo) 9 August 2005 -- The European Union's enlargement chief, Olli Rehn, said today he is reasonably confident that Turkey's membership talks would start as planned in October.

EU leaders agreed in December of last year that Ankara could begin talks to join the bloc on 3 October.

But last week, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said it was inconceivable for Turkey to begin negotiations on joining without acknowledging Cyprus, which joined the bloc last year.

According to a copy of a speech he gave in the German city of Hamburg, Rehn said that if the EU sticks to what it has decided, he is reasonably confident that the negotiations shall start on 3 October.

(Reuters)

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Is Ankara Growing Weary Of EU Reforms?