Stefan Fuele, who has been nominated as the EU's enlargement chief, said the door was open to Turkey despite opposition in some member states and that accession talks were the best way to encourage economic and political reforms.

But he made clear the chances of progress by Turkey were limited if it failed to open its ports and airports to EU-member Cyprus under a 2005 agreement known as the Ankara protocol.

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The EU is also frustrated, mainly by the lack of progress in Turkey's relations with Cyprus, although Fuele said he also had concerns about religious freedoms in Turkey.