Two women hold up a poster with banner that reads ‘Don’t touch my headscarf,’ as they protest against the Muslim headscarf ban at universities, in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday. The European Union yesterday gave Ankara the go-ahead to open two more of the 35 policy chapters needed for entry to the bloc.

By Amelie Bottollier-Depois - Agence France-Presse

BRUSSELS - Turkey will take another small step next week down the long road to joining the European Union but its quest could soon be undermined by a possible ban on the country's ruling party.

EU ambassadors yesterday gave a green light for Ankara to open two more of the 35 policy chapters, or sectors, that all candidates must navigate to sign up to the EU.

The chapters, on «company law» and «intellectual property law,» will officially be opened Tuesday in Luxembourg, bringing to eight the number of policy areas Turkey has opened since it began its accession talks in 2005.

This time the decision was made by the 27 EU nations with little fuss, as France - along with Austria and Cyprus, the main opponents of bringing in mainly Muslim but fiercely secular Turkey - made no new blocking move.

Just three weeks before taking over the EU's rotating presidency, officials said, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears determined to show that while he opposes Turkey's entry, he will not block the process at the moment.

«France wants to show that it can play the game of being a neutral president,» an EU official said, on condition of anonymity.

Paris is «terribly happy that we have been able to find other technical chapters to open to prove its goodwill,» said a second EU official. Indeed 18 chapters are on hold and few remain that can be opened.

Eight were officially frozen in December 2006 due to Turkey's refusal to open its ports and airports to Cypriot ships and planes, while five are directly linked to accession and blocked by France. EU-member Cyprus is holding out on some, as is the European Commission, which supervises the accession process. If all goes well for Turkey, officials suggest, three more chapters could be opened before the French presidency ends on December 31.

But progress might be hindered in coming months if Turkey's Constitutional Court bans the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and party officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's chief prosecutor has accused the party of undermining the country's secular system, but the EU insists such a move would be a strike against democracy.

The AKP has disowned its Islamist roots and embraced Turkey's bid to join the EU, but maintains that rigid interpretations of secularism in Turkey breach religious freedoms.

So the European Commission is readying itself for a five-year ban on Erdogan.

«We have to be firm, but measured, in our response, so as not to provide ammunition for those against Europe» in Turkey, the first EU official said. The Commission's job will be to determine whether the ruling would amount to a «serious and persistent breach» of democracy, the rule of law or the respect of human rights, and should lead to the suspension of membership talks.

On the other hand, Brussels could condemn the decision but take no action.

Between these two poles, the Commission is working on a «third way» in which it would technically freeze the negotiations, by halting work on the chapters, without actually making a potentially inflammatory political decision.