The European Union agreed on Monday to extend membership talks with Turkey to two new policy areas but stopped short of opening discussions on the key area of economic and monetary policy, central to EU membership.
Ambassadors decided the EU would open talks with Ankara on the statistics and financial control negotiating chapters at an accession conference on Tuesday in Brussels, a German EU presidency spokesman said.
But the presidency left the third area off the agenda after France made clear it would block starting talks on that politically sensitive issue to mark President Nicolas Sarkozy's opposition to eventual Turkish EU entry, diplomats said. "This is another step further in accession negotiations with Turkey," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters.
"That (the chapter on economic and monetary policy) remains on the table and I hope that discussions upon this subject also continue for its adoption in the future...There is no drama."
Turkish financial markets were unmoved by the widely expected EU decision to open just two new "chapters" of talks out of 35 into which EU law is divided. The EU will also open on Tuesday negotiations on six new policy areas with Croatia, a less controversial candidate.
A Turkish foreign ministry official said Ankara was unhappy with the fact that the bloc did not agree to start negotiations on the more important area of economic and monetary policy. "If it is technical we will tackle any problems and move on (with that chapter), but if the decision is politically motivated we could not welcome that," said the official.
A French diplomat noted that not all policy areas could be treated the same. "Negotiations with Turkey continue. But there are chapters and there are chapters."
Portugal's EU ambassador Alvaro Mendonca e Moura, whose country will hold the bloc's presidency for the second half of the year, said it would try but could not force the opening of talks if not all countries agreed to it.
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