Turkey clears first hurdle in its bid to enter European Union
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AFTER 40 years of trying, Turkey was told yesterday it had passed the first hurdle in its campaign to join the EU after the European Commission recommended that entry talks begin.
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Turkey declared it had fulfilled all the political criteria for membership talks with the European Union on Sunday, three days before a recommendation from the EU&#39;s executive that will give Ankara a green light.
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The European Commission&#39;s cautious recommendation that Turkey begin membership negotiations puts the country a step closer to realizing its dream of joining Europe -- but
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Turkey&#39;s parliament last night bowed to European Union demands and passed a liberalising penal code which should open the way to talks with Ankara on EU membership.
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The European Commission may clear the way for Turkey to start talks next year on European Union entry, spurring the Turkish economy and advancing human rights.
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The European Commission has given a qualified go-ahead to starting EU membership talks with Turkey, warning that negotiations could be frozen if the country backtracks on reforms.
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Turkey took a significant step Wednesday toward its long-cherished goal of joining the European Union when the EU&#39;s executive branch proposed opening formal negotiations
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The European Union and Turkey reached a historic agreement Friday to begin talks next year aimed at bringing the populous Muslim country into the EU after hammering out a compromise over Ankara&#39;s relationship with Cyprus.
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Four decades is a long time to wait. Since 1963, Turkey has been eligible to apply for membership to the European Union. It formally sought entry to the club 15 years ago, was turned down, but didn&#39;t give up.
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Turkey moved closer to winning a date for the start of European Union entry negotiations after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to heal Turkey&#39;s diplomatic standoff with new EU member Cyprus.
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Turks on Friday welcomed the European Union's historic decision to open membership talks with their country next year, but some worried about the compromises Turkey will need to make to become the first Muslim nation in the bloc.
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BusinessWeek Online - Turkey's decades-long quest to join the European Union looks set to take a great leap forward. On Oct. 6 the European Commission in Brussels is due to release its opinion on whether Turkey has met the legal conditions to start negotiations on becoming a full EU member. Then, in mid-December, Europe's 25 political leaders are scheduled to give their formal consent to opening negotiations.
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Turkey came a step closer to fulfilling a 40-year-old dream when the European Commission recommended that the EU should begin membership talks with Ankara.
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By George Parker, Daniel Dombey and Sarah Laitner in Brussels. Turkey was last night offered a historic deal to start talks to join the EU, putting it on course to become part of the union after more than 40 years of waiting.
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The European Union and Turkey reached  a historic agreement on Friday on starting talks on admitting  the large Muslim nation to the bloc after overcoming last  minute haggling over Ankara's relationship with EU member  Cyprus.
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Turkey won a provisional green light from the European Commission on Wednesday to open membership negotiations with the European Union, a watershed decision after 40 years of on-again, off-again talks.
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A guide to the deal struck between the European Union and Turkey over entry talks.