Turkey's Foreign and the EU ministers are expected to hold meetings with high-level EU officials next week to discuss Ankara's long-running EU accession bid, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
The meetings are set for next Tuesday in Brussels with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, EU Minister Ömer Çelik, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
In addition to Turkey's accession negotiations, cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, trade, the fight against terrorism, the latest developments concerning migration, the visa liberalization process and recent developments regarding regional issues will be on the agenda.
"During the meeting between President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan and the Presidents of EU institutions on May 25 in Brussels, it was agreed to increase dialogue between Turkey and the EU, following which, contacts at the technical and political levels were intensified," the statement said.
The association agreement between the EU and Turkey began in 1963, when Turkey and the European Economic Community (EEC) signed the Ankara Agreement. It is an agreement aimed at Turkey's accession to the EEC and later paved the way for accession talks with the EU.
Only 16 policy chapters have been opened out of a total of 35 since negotiations began 54 years ago. The latest, Chapter 33 on financial and budgetary provisions was opened in accession talks.
EU Minister Çelik previously called on the EU to unblock Chapter 23 on judicial and fundamental rights and Chapter 24 on justice, security and freedoms for accession talks.