ANKARA
Newly appointed Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu hopes new chapters in Turkey's EU accession bid will be opened during Greece's EU presidency which started on January 1.
Speaking on Thursday during a visit by Greek Ambassador to Turkey, Kyriakos Loukakis, to Cavusoglu's office, the EU affairs minister said Greece had fully supported Turkey's EU entry process in the last ten years despite the Cyprus dispute.
The island of Cyprus has been divided into Greek and Turkish sides since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish peace mission to aid Turkish Cypriots in the north in 1974.
Greece assumed the six-month EU presidency for the fifth time taking over from Lithuania.
"We hope new chapters in Turkey's EU accession will be opened during Greece's EU term presidency," the minister said. "Turkey welcomes Greece's priorities for its six-month long presidency including financial issues and structural reforms."
Greece has identified growth, employment and illegal immigration as the country's main priorities during its presidency.
Meanwhile Ambassador Loukakis said Turkey's EU accession was also among Greece's priorities.
"I would like to assure that Greek presidency will be very supportive to Turkey's efforts in its EU accession process," Loukakis said.
Athens has set aside 50 million euros to play EU host, which is the smallest amount by any presidency.
When asked about Greece's budget to assume the presidency, the ambassador said, "We will try to organize a very successful presidency with the limited resources."
