Emergency meeting on Turkey's EU membership bid canceled

The European Union has abandoned planned meetings to break the current deadlock in Turkey's accession process, said the Finnish EU presidency on Thursday.

Finland, which currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, had invited officials from Turkey and Cyprus for talks in Helsinki on Sunday and Monday, hoping to make breakthrough on pending issues like direct trade between the EU and the Turkish- Cypriot community.

A Finnish spokesman said in Brussels that they failed to gather all parties for the crisis meetings before the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, release a crucial report next Wednesday, which is expected to highlight EU criticism of the Turkish government.

However, a meeting between Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Turkish-Cypriot Community leader Mehmet Ali Talat will continue in Brussels on Friday.

"Our aim has been to find a solution that enables the uninterrupted continuation of Turkey's accession negotiations and improves the situation of both communities in Cyprus", Tuomioja said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also confirmed that Finland failed to hold crisis meetings.

"As far as I know, they (Finland) were unable to bring together all the parties to the problem," Gul told reporters upon his return from a visit to Moscow on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua