EU moves Croatia ahead of Turkey in entry talks

BRUSSELS - The European Union agreed on Wednesday to move forward faster in accession talks with Croatia than with Turkey for the first time because of Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus.

An Austrian EU presidency spokesman said EU ambassadors agreed to open detailed negotiations with both countries on competition policy, but only with Zagreb on customs union issues.

That was because the European Commission has not finished screening the compatibility of Turkish legislation with EU law on customs because of the Cyprus issue, he said.

- REUTERS