Croatia resumes EU entry talks, Turkey criticised

Croatia resumed accession talks with the European Union today after an almost one-year freeze caused by a border row with Slovenia, a breakthrough which the EU said was a "win-win-win" situation.

But the Union said after talks with Turkey, which also hopes to join the EU, that Ankara still had plenty of urgent work to do on reforms and made clear it would face criticism in an EU report this month on its progress towards membership.

The EU accession drive is an anchor for reform in candidate countries, and financial markets in Turkey are particularly sensitive to any signs its efforts may be flagging.

The resumption of talks with Croatia, after EU member Slovenia lifted a veto it imposed last December over the border row, has raised its hopes of becoming the 28th EU member state.

"I would say that this is not only a win-win situation for Slovenia and Croatia, it's a win-win-win, because it is also a victory for the European Union if we can unblock the negotiations with Croatia and see that the border dispute is settled," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

"This means we have entered the final phase of our negotiations to become an EU member," Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor said on the northern Adriatic island of Krk.

Zagreb began talks on six new negotiating "chapters", which prepare prospective new member states for entry, and provisionally closed five. It hopes to finish the negotiations by July.

The foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia also discussed setting up an arbitration tribunal to oversee final settlement of the border row.

CRITICISM OF TURKEY

Croatia still has to improve its fight against corruption and make its courts and public administration more efficient. It must also show it is cooperating fully with the United Nations war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia.

Croatia hopes to join the EU even if Irish voters reject the bloc's Lisbon reform treaty, but diplomats say enlargement could then be halted if the Irish vote "No".

Zagreb's chances of joining quickly look much better than those of Turkey.

"Domestically in Turkey there are certain welcome developments, for instance reform of the judiciary," Rehn said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. "At the same time there is plenty of urgent work to do."

"The situation of the freedom of the press is something that we continue to watch with concern. Also, in other areas such as religious freedoms, women's rights and trade union rights, problems are still outstanding and more could be done," he said.

Rehn said these problems would be addressed in the annual report the executive European Commission is due to release on Oct. 14 on candidate countries' progress towards membership.

He also raised concerns about the failure to resolve a dispute over the future of Cyprus, divided along ethnic lines since Turkey invaded in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Davutoglu said it was in the interests of the EU as well as Ankara to bring in Turkey, and that solving the Cyprus dispute should not be a pre-requisite for its accession.

Asked about a date for joining, he said: "Even 2015 is too late, not only for us but for the EU as well. Therefore we have to realise this objective as early as possible."