BRUSSELS
European Union ambassadors have approved a set of standards Turkey must meet to open talks in a new policy area in its EU accession negotiations.
Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU Member States, or COREPER, approved Wednesday the opening criteria for talks on "Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments," in an initial step to resume the country's policy alignment process which have been stalled for the past 2.5 years.
"Turkey has moved one step closer to opening a new chapter," Stefan Fule, EU's chief enlargement officer, said in his Twitter account.
The European Commission, EU's main executive arm, would assess if Turkey fulfilled the criteria to open negotiations in the new policy area and the final call hinges on unanimous consent of the members of the European Council, union's main decision making body.
Turkey began accession talks in 2005 and the country has so far opened 13 and completed only one of the 35 policy areas each candidate country must conclude.
