Belgium: "We need a quick way out of the near-standstill in Turkey's EU talks"

Turkey's rapidly improving economy is a real success story, but its politicians should be careful to avoid boasting about this success, said Belgian Ambassador to Turkey Pol De Witte yesterday. Belgium next week ends its six-month tenure as European Union president. "I think both sides have a lot to gain by further integrating their economies," he said. "Multinational EU companies are investing in Turkey and see good return in their investments thanks to the market here, thanks to the regional market and also the good climate for labor and production." He added, "For so many years we have had a situation in which a number of chapters (in Turkey's EU negotiations) have been blocked due to non-implementation of the Ankara Protocol (keeping Greek Cypriot vessels out of Turkish ports and airports), and this has led to a situation now where in fact the accession negotiations have almost come to a standstill because there are no easy chapters, and this is something we would all like to overcome. A solution should be found sooner rather than later because every one of us feels the consequences of this, so it is in nobody's interest that this situation continues like this."