Chapter on regional policy opens in Turkey's EU accession talks

Chapter 22 on Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments was opened in Turkey's EU accession negotiations at the 10th meeting of the Intergovernmental Accession Conference in Brussels on November 5, 2013, following a pause of more than 3 years. The Turkish delegation at the Intergovernmental Accession Conference was led by Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis and Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz. Following the accession talks, a joint press conference was held, during which Bagis said that he considered the opening of a new chapter as a "delayed, but positive step," and Yilmaz expressed hope that the blockade of other chapters would be lifted as soon as possible. Bagis stated that the opening of a new chapter was a milestone in relations between Turkey and the EU and symbolically very important. Referring to EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule's call for a greater engagement with Turkey, Bagis joked, "I want to note that Stefan said, we need more engagement, Stefan I want to assure you, we are ready, not only to get engaged but also get married, which is metaphorically, is full membership."