BRUSSELS, Nov 29: The European Commission on Wednesday dealt a blow to Turkey’s EU membership ambitions, recommending a partial freezing of the talks process over Ankara’s hardline stance on Cyprus.

The commission urged that eight of the 35 policy chapters which all candidate nations must complete remain closed, a decision which brought an angry reaction from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The commission recommended that the EU should `not open negotiations on chapters covering policy areas relevant to Turkey's restrictions as regards the Republic of Cyprus until the Commission confirms that Turkey has fulfilled its commitments’.

The commission also recommended that while some of the chapters could be opened soon none could be formally closed until the Commission is happy with Turkey's attitude.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, speaking in Riga, swiftly slammed the decision as “unacceptable”. He told journalists in Riga that the decision was unexpected.

For months the EU had been threatening to recommend full or partial suspension of membership talks with Turkey. —AFP