EU says Turkey's entry bid stalled, criticizes Ankara on Cyprus gas dispute
The European Union criticized candidate Turkey for not doing enough to normalize relations with EU member Greek Cyprus and urged Ankara to avoid threats that could further damage ties in a recent spat over gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
In an annual progress report, the EU's executive arm, the EU Commission, also noted that there has been no progress in Turkey's accession negotiations, under way since 2005, partly due to opposition from Greek Cyprus as well as by French and German reluctance to admit the largely Muslim state.
"Regrettably, accession negotiations have not moved forward for more than one year. There are frustrations about this on both sides," EU's Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said in a speech in Brussels, adding that the EU should work out ways to keep Ankara engaged.
"These (frustrations) should not blind us from the importance of our relationship, or the underlying fundamentals, which remain good. I believe it is time to work for a renewed positive agenda in EU-Turkey relations."
European policymakers are concerned about losing influence with Turkey at a time when Ankara's clout is rising in the Middle East and North Africa, where popular revolts this year have created uncertainty over future alliances.
Turkey also oversees important energy corridors from Asia to Europe, and wields significant influence over whether illegal migrants from Africa can reach Europe.
Conditional candidacy for Serbia
The European Commission also recommended that Serbia become a candidate to join the European Union as a reward for democratic reforms and the capture of war crimes fugitives.
The EU executive said Serbia's new status was conditional on it resuming talks on practical cooperation with its former breakaway province Kosovo. The talks broke down in September.
"I recommend granting Serbia candidate status on the understanding that Serbia re-engages in the dialogue with Kosovo and is moving swiftly to the implementation in good faith of agreements reached to date," Füle said.
The EU executive also recommended on Wednesday that the bloc starts accession talks with tiny ex-Yugoslav state Montenegro.
Serbia has satisfied one of the main demands of the European Union for membership by catching fugitives wanted for crimes during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, including Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander who was on the run for 16 years until he was caught in May this year.
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