The European Commission recommended opening detailed accession talks with Turkey on science and research, which is one of 35 negotiating chapters. Krisztina Nagy, spokesperson for EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said that the commission submitted its report regarding the issue to the EU Council. EU member states will work on the recommendation of the Commission and should unanimous agree on opening talks with Ankara. We should note the EC’s decision is important when taking into account the fact that the recommendation was made under the Austrian EU presidency. As known, in the past, Austrian politicians expressed their objection to Turkey’s full membership and they proposed a privileged partnership status instead. There have been concerns that Turkey may not be able to start detailed accession talks with the EU under the Austrian presidency, which ends in June.
