The European Union (EU) has reached an agreement with Turkey which, among other things, will facilitate the entry of Turkish vegetables and fruits into EU territory.
The agreement was achieved late on Sunday, 29 November, at the summit held in Brussels between the leaders of the 28 member states of the EU and the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
This meeting basically served to address the issue of Syrian refugees present in Turkish territory who are looking to access the EU. In exchange for 2.2 million refugees staying in Turkish territory (or being returned by Turkey to the territory of origin), the EU will give Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government a total of 3,000 million Euro; the negotiations for Turkey's accession to the EU, which ground to a halt in 2007, will also be restarted.
Negotiations are starting in December this year with the opening of the economic chapter, in which the import of vegetables and fruit is included.
The agreement comes at a delicate time for Turkey, especially given the veto imposed by Russia on Turkish imports after the downing of a Russian warplane.
After the summit, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that "it is a historic day in our process of accession to the EU and I am grateful to all European leaders for this new beginning."
For his part, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, stated: "We have agreed to streamline the accession process."
