Poland: there is “no magic formula” to speed up Turkey’s EU membership talksJuly 2, 2011 - 14:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - There is “no magic formula” to speed up Turkey’s slow-moving European Union membership negotiations, Warsaw’s top diplomat in Ankara said Friday, July 1, on the day Poland took over the six-month rotating EU presidency from Hungary, Hürriyet Daily News reported. “There is no magic formula. These are things that have been going on for a long time. Some countries [such as Croatia] made progress faster than Turkey because they led negotiations in a way they could make progress faster,” Polish ambassador to Ankara Marcin Wilczek said. “We hope to see progress in the Turkish-EU accession negotiations. We’ll do our best as the presidency can do.” The Polish ambassador, similarly, hoped progress would be made in this month’s talks. “Then many things will become much easier,” said Wilczek. During its presidency, however, Poland “cannot engage [itself] in solving only one particular issue as this is an issue that concerns the entire EU,” Wilczek said, adding that the EU should also think about the western Balkans, Serbia and the eastern neighborhood. Asked if Poland would come up with a plan to accelerate Turkish accession, the ambassador said it was too early to speculate. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |