"Turkey and Europe Agree to Talks on Joining
By CRAIG S. SMITH
Published: October 3, 2005
LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 3 - Turkey and the European Union agreed late today to formally begin talks on Turkey's historic bid to join the organization, setting into motion a process that will likely take a decade or more but could end with the union extending its borders eastward into Asia to embrace the predominantly Muslim country.
Turkey has worked for more than four decades to join the evolving union, restructuring its legal system and economy to meet European standards even as Europe added demands and refused to start formal negotiations. The agreement to open the talks was a victory for the country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has staked his political credibility on getting the talks under way."
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