If There Is Will, Obstacles Can Be Overcome:  Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy Chapter Has Been Opened Against All The Odds

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Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy Chapter was opened to negotiations on June 30, 2010, the last day of the Spanish Presidency. This is the 13^th chapter that has been opened since the beginning of the negotiations initiated on October 3, 2005. Although Spain, at the beginning of the EU Presidency in January stated that 3 to 4 chapters could be opened, only one chapter namely the Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy Chapter has been opened because of the level of technical preparations Turkey made, as was also underlined in the December 11, 2009 dated TEPAV Evaluation Note "How Do EU Decisions of December 2009 Summit Affect Turkey-EU Negotiation Process?"

Although this chapter was the only one that could be opened, that had completely technical opening criteria and that ensured a number of advantages for Turkey such as improving the life quality of Turkish citizens and increasing the food exports of Turkey, the opening of it was hindered by problems first stemming from Turkey and then stemming from the EU. In this context, Turkey was faced with the risk that no chapter would be opened during Spanish Presidency as was the case during Finland's EU Presidency in the second half of 2006.