Belgian presidency cancels Turkey talks scheduled for Dec 22

According to Toby Vogel at the European Voice, the outgoing Belgian EU presidency will stop short of opening a new chapter in the negotiations over Turkish accession, and has cancelled talks with Turkish officials scheduled for December 22. Vogel points out that the Belgian presidency will be

the first since Turkey began membership talks with the EU in 2005 that fails to open a single negotiating chapter.

The Belgian foreign minister justified the decision not to open the chapter on competition because Turkey's progress on the issue had been "a bit too slow."