European leaders last night invited Turkey to start talks on accession into the EU, as Ankara signalled a shift in its position on the Cyprus problem.
The talks are to start on October 3rd next year. Mr Jan Peter Balkenende, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which currently holds the EU presidency, said the talks "were not designed to be 'open-ended" but that "the goal of negotiations is accession".
The President of the European Commission, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, said: "tonight the EU has opened its door to Turkey".
The leaders were expected to tell Turkey that it could not expect to join the EU before 2014 and that permanent restrictions on migration to other European countries could apply even after it joins.
As EU leaders met over dinner in Brussels, Turkey's Prime Minister, Mr Tayyip Erdogan, said his government was willing to take steps on Cyprus, which has been divided since Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island 30 years ago.
"We are always ready to take new steps on Cyprus, but what is important is the manner of the step," Mr Erdogan said.
Turkey does not recognise the internationally-recognised Republic of Cyprus, which joined the EU earlier this year and has ruled out recognition in advance of an overall settlement.
EU diplomats were confident last night, however, that Turkey would agree to extend its association agreement with the EU to the 10 new member-states, including Cyprus.
The Commission President said yesterday that Cyprus was among a number of issues on which Turkey must reassure its European partners.
"The challenge for Turkey is to win the hearts and minds of those European citizens who are open to, but not convinced of, Turkey's European destiny. To do that I believe that Turkey must sooner rather than later break new ground. It must go the extra mile and send clear and consistent signals of its commitment to a European future and the core values underlying this Union," he said.
Some EU countries, led by Austria and France, are concerned about the EU's capacity to integrate a large and overwhelmingly Muslim country such as Turkey.
In their joint communiqué today, the EU leaders are expected to make explicit the possibility of a permanent restriction on the free movement of people from Turkey to other member-states.
The EU could suspend membership talks with Turkey at any time if Ankara reverses its progress towards political reform and human rights.