EU, Turkey agree terms of accession

EU, Turkey agree terms of accession

European Union leaders and Turkey agreed on Friday the terms on which Ankara will start membership talks with the bloc next October, an EU government official said. "There is a global agreement on the Turkey part of the final statement," said the official. The deal, four decades after Ankara signed an association agreement as a first step to membership in 1963, was reached after tough negotiations with the 25-nation bloc, which insisted Turkey must move toward normalizing relations with Cyprus. The terms of the agreement are as follows:

• Negotiations are to start on 3 October 2005, and will take at least 
  10 years 
• The aim of the negotiations is full membership, although the end of 
  the process is open 
• A verbal confirmation of Turkey to acknowledge Cyprus will be 
  sufficient 
• The negotiations shall proceed in the context of the “Copenhagen 
  Criteria” 
• There will be no permanent limitations on the freedom of movement 

The EU also invited Bulgaria and Romania to sign accession treaties with the EU in April 2005. European leaders confirmed they wanted the two former communist countries to join the European Union in January 2007. Both countries successfully completed membership negotiations earlier this month, but were warned in the draft to continue their reform process. Romania shall implement reforms in the areas of justice, corporate competition and environment. Bulgaria was also urged to complete its reforms in justice and home affairs, the draft text said. The EU also offered Croatia to start negotiations in April 2005 to become a member by 2007. However, Croatia is urged to cooperate with the International Court for War Criminals in La Hague to make the punishment of war criminals possible. Croatia still did not hand in some war criminals to the court.