Turkije wil onderhandelingen over EU-lidmaatschap dit jaar starten (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Turkey will start negotiations to join the European Union this year, according to the country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

After a meeting with the European Commission on Thursday evening (25 March) Mr Erdogan confidently proclaimed: "This is an important year for us, it is the year that we will start accession negotiations".

EU members are set to decide at the end of this year whether Turkey has met the political criteria for membership and so whether it is able to start accession negotiations soon after.

Asked if the decision had already been made, EU enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen replied "if that is what the Prime Minister said, then I think it shows his confidence that his country can meet the political criteria by the end of the year".

Mr Erdogan's confidence is likely to raise speculation that the deal is all but in the bag.

The Turkish government continues to enjoy the support of Germany for its bid, and has recently received strong backing from the UK prime minister, Tony Blair.

But the divided island of Cyprus remains a hurdle.

Although an agreement on reuniting the Turkish and Greek parts of the island remains elusive, with talks ongoing in Switzerland, many analysts believe it would be difficult to block Ankara's bid while they continue to push for agreement.

However, Turkey will be keen to press for a deal in order to avoid a situation where Greek Cyprus, which will become an EU member in May, threatens to veto their membership bid.