Friday 17th December 2004
Agreement has finally been reached today between Turkish and European Union leaders concerning commencement of EU membership talks, which should start in October 2005 between the EU and Ankara.
The association agreement between the Union and Turkey signed as a first step to membership was done as far back as 1963, over 40 years previous. The agreement today was reached after negotiations between Turkey and the 25 current EU member States. Negotiations had appeared to stall earlier when the EU had demanded recognition of Cyprus by Turkey and insisted that relations were resumed between the two Countries.
Cyprus has been a cause of disagreement since the invasion of Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974, which split the Mediterranean Island paradise into two sectors; the Northern part of Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cypriot Cyprus in the South. The capital City remained Nicosia.
It is hope that this agreement for Turkey’s EU membership talks to begin could also aid the reunification process in Cyprus, between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides. The Greek Cypriot southern Cyprus, which is the internationally recognized country, became a full EU member State in the latest round of permanent entries to the Union in May 2004.
When Turkey enters the European Union it will become the largest member, with the biggest population and will stretch the borders of the European Union deep into the Middle East with Iran, Syria and Iraq among its neighbors in what can only be discribed as a positive move to distribute wealth and opportunity into the region.
