EU hopes for agreement to delay Turkey membership talks
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - European Union ministers said they were hopeful of reaching an agreement on Tuesday that would delay reviving membership talks with Turkey to signal European concerns over Ankara's handling of weeks of protests.
Germany, backed by several other states, has blocked an EU proposal to open a new chapter, or policy area, in slow-moving membership talks with Turkey on Wednesday because it believes it would send the wrong signal so soon after the crackdown.
On Monday, Berlin proposed delaying the formal opening of the new chapter with Turkey by about four months to signal EU displeasure over the response to the protests.
A delay in opening the new chapter would raise new doubts about whether Turkey, a largely Muslim country of 76 million people, will ever be admitted to the European club.
Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/25/uk-turkey-protests-eu-idUKBRE95O0BC20130625
