Turkey hopes to speed up its EU accession talks under the Spanish EU Presidency in the first half of 2010. “We are placing a lot of hope in the Spanish Presidency because Spain understands Turkey’s strategic strong points very well,” declared Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a conference in Madrid, on 16 November. Ankara began membership talks in 2005 but to date has opened only 11 of the 35 chapters and is encountering opposition to its accession from certain countries, like France and Germany. The Spanish State Secretary for the EU, Diego Lopez Garrido, reiterated Spain’s support for Turkey’s membership, stressing the country’s role as a “bridge between civilisations”.

The same day, Albania took another step towards EU membership as Europe’s foreign ministers officially transmitted its candidacy to the European Commission for review. The executive will issue an opinion on whether or not to grant Albania official applicant status, the starting point for negotiations. Albania, the second country with a Muslim majority to seek EU membership after Turkey, submitted its candidacy last April.