EU set to start negotiations on Turkey's environment chapter

Turkey and the European Union are set to open the environment chapter during today's intergovernmental conference as part the country's accession negotiations. Turkey has opened 11 out of the 35 chapters and closed one of them since starting talks in 2005, and Ankara has expressed frustration over slow progress and double standards in the membership negotiations. In 2006 the EU suspended the opening of eight chapters and the closing of several others due to Turkey's policy of not opening Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Turkey refuses to do so due to the EU's failure to keep its promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in return for Turkish Cypriot support for a 2004 UN plan to solve the Cyprus issue. Though it rejected the plan, the Greek Cypriot administration was admitted into the EU that year. Negotiations on the environment chapter are expected to be challenging, because Turkey's compliance with EU regulations on the environment needs detailed preparations and strong cooperation among state institutions along with considerable financial resources.