Hurriyet published an article by Serkan Dimirtas headlined 'Time to re-dynamize Turkey-EU talks'. "On Oct. 3, 2005, when the negotiations were launched everyone was pretty sure that this process would be a very difficult and lengthy one, given the fact that the Cyprus problem still stood as the major hurdle. However, additional problems have been added to Cyprus in due course, especially with the election of Nicholas Sarkozy as the French President," the article reads.
"Today Sarkozy left the Elysée Palace to make room for his successor François Hollande, who seems to have lightened the mood between Ankara and Paris. Though one should always be cautious in not raising expectations, there are signals that the new leadership could remove its unilateral blockage on five chapters," the author says.
"The first step in giving momentum to Turkey-EU ties will be witnessed during Enlargement Commissioner of the EU, Stefan Füle’s, visit to Ankara May 17," he believes.
"Due to the fact that no concrete step is expected from Paris until its mid-June parliamentary elections and that Greek Cyprus will resume term presidency on July 1, expectations to open negotiation chapters have already been postponed to early 2013 during the Irish presidency. The expectation is that with the completion of technical works on several chapters, the early months of the Irish presidency could see the opening of multiple chapters," the article reads.
"But it takes two to tango. It’s of great significance that the government also re-opens the forgotten EU chapter in its to-do list. In addition, particular attention will continue to be on the new constitution as it will constitute Turkey’s greatest achievement in its journey to join the EU. All four political parties, particularly the ruling party, should endorse the charter-making process in a flexible manner and push the limits for forming a compromised blueprint," the author concludes.
