Ein weiteres Kapitel
Nikolas Busse, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
July 1 2010

The EU has opened a new chapter in negotiations with Turkey: on food security. That makes 13 chapters open out of the 35 that form the so-called acquis communautaire for admission to the EU. So far the only chapter through to the finishing post is the one on science and research: there alone Turkey is in a position to join the EU. The decision to open a new chapter comes from Spain, looking for some success to crown six months of presidency. But the EU divides over the issue: some believe in Turkey’s pro-European good faith, others think she is playing a double game. The German government is torn, the chancellor applying the brakes and the foreign minister pressing the accelerator. In the end all members did vote to open this thirteenth chapter of negotiations. But many chapters are stuck since Turkey refuses to create a customs union in view of the Cyprus dispute, an area where a number of countries refuse to give way. To have Turkey as a member would please many, given her growing mean income and her current economic growth which is far superior to that of certain new members. This will put pressure on the Commission: on November 10th they will be handed a report on the state of advancement of EU-Turkey negotiations. But the final decision will rest with Parliament and the member countries, each of which has the power of veto.