Haces vasculares de monocotiledóneas: Gramíneas

Within the framework of accession negotiations, 14 chapters have been opened so far and one of these was provisionally closed. The Commission has tabled a proposal to open Chapter 17 - economic and monetary affairs, in order to underpin the envisaged high level economic dialogue with Turkey. Opening benchmarks for Chapters 23 and 24 on the rule of law still need to be defined so as to provide Turkey with a roadmap for reforms in this essential area. Progress on the priorities for reform is encouraged and monitored by the bodies set up under the Association Agreement. The Association Committee met in April 2015 after a new cycle of sub-committees was launched in February 2015, following a nearly three-year break. Sub- committees play a useful role in supporting Turkey's efforts of alignment with the acquis and of compliance with the opening and closing benchmarks of the negotiation chapters, without prejudice to the Council Conclusions of 11 December 2006. The Association Council met in May 2015. The Joint Parliamentary Committee met in November 2014 and March 2015. This Commission has maintained a policy of broad strategic engagement with Turkey, exemplified by the December 2014 visit by the High Representative/Vice President and Commissioners Hahn and Stylianides. Turkey itself continued to express its commitment to EU accession: the Prime Minister visited Brussels in January 2015 and met with the Presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission. The President of the European Parliament visited Turkey in April 2015 and the President of the European Council in September 2015. The enhanced political dialogue between the EU and Turkey continued. A political dialogue meeting at political directors' level took place in November 2014. Regular discussions on foreign and security policy were held, including on counter-terrorism, against the background of Turkey joining the international coalition against Da'esh. Discussions were held on a wide range of topics and regions, inter alia, Syria, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, Central Asia.

In the area of visa migration and asylum, the first implementation report3 on the visa roadmap was issued in October 2014 as part of the visa liberalisation dialogue launched in December 2013 and after the EU-Turkey Readmission agreement had entered into force on 1 October 2014. The report was prepared on the basis of several peer assessment missions. It welcomed the progress achieved by Turkey in the fields of migration and international protection, as well as in document security. At the same time, work was still needed in many areas, in particular border management, and police and judicial cooperation. Full and effective implementation of the Readmission Agreement towards all Member States is one of the benchmarks in the visa roadmap. As a follow up to the Special European Council in April, the EU and Turkey agreed to step up plans on reinforced cooperation in the area of migration, including on the fight against smuggling of migrants. Turkey continued making considerable efforts to provide massive and unprecedented humanitarian aid and support to a continuously increasing influx of refugees from Syria and Iraq.

Developing further close economic ties was another shared priority. Turkey participates in multilateral economic dialogue with the Commission and Member States to prepare the country for participation in multilateral surveillance and economic policy coordination as part of the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union. The most recent meeting was held on 12 May 2015, where joint recommendations were adopted. The EU and Turkey have also closely

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worked together in the framework of the G-20, which Turkey has been chairing in 2015. Turkey and the EU continued to improve their cooperation on energy, and a high level energy dialogue was launched in March 2015. The dialogue covers the gas sector and security of supplies, including the Southern Gas Corridor; the electricity sector; the nuclear sector; energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. In May 2015, the Commission and Turkey agreed to initiate procedures in view of a modernisation and extension of the Customs Union. This followed an evaluation of the World Bank issued in May 2014. The Commission launched an Impact Assessment4 in August 2015, with a view to prepare negotiating directives in the course of 2016. Turkey is the EU’s fifth largest trading partner, while the EU is Turkey’s largest. Two out of five goods traded by Turkey come from or go to the EU and over 70 % of foreign direct investment in Turkey originates in the EU. Regarding cooperation in disaster management, Turkey became a member of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in May 2015.

Regarding financial assistance Turkey is an important recipient of EU funds. The Commission and Turkey continued preparations under the new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II), in line with the Indicative Strategy Paper for Turkey for the period 2014- 2020 which earmarked EUR 4.45 billion of funding. In December 2014, the Commission adopted the annual programme for 2014, with a budget of EUR 366 million focusing primarily on democracy and governance, rule of law and fundamental rights. It also adopted four sectoral multi-annual programmes for the period 2014-2016, for an amount of EUR 793 million, in the areas of environment and climate change, transport, competitiveness, employment and social inclusion. The Framework Agreement covering IPA II entered into force in June 2015. The preparations for the annual programme 2015 are well under way. The EU also acknowledged the considerable pressure the Syrian refugee crisis imposes on Turkey and has so far set aside EUR 176 million under different EU instruments.

Turkey participates in the following EU programmes: the Seventh Research Framework Programme, Customs, Fiscalis, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, Progress, Culture, Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action. Turkey has also recently concluded or is in the process of concluding new agreements for a number of programmes, including: Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium- sized Enterprises, Creative Europe and Employment and Social Innovation. Turkey participates in the European Environmental Agency and in the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

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