The EU has lost appeal for the Turkish people after years of stagnation in Ankara’s accession talks but a new “positive agenda” launched yesterday aims to revive the process, said the bloc’s enlargement chief yesterday .
Formal entry negotiations began in 2005 but the process has ground almost to a halt in recent years, blocked by an intractable dispute over the divided island of Cyprus and opposition from core EU members France and Germany. In a bid to kick-start negotiations, EU enlargement chief Stefan Fuele and Turkish minister for European affairs Egemen Bagis announced the start of a “positive agenda” they said should bring fresh dynamics and new momentum to their relations. – (Reuters)